There are over 135,000 homeless students across New York State; although many are concentrated in and around urban areas, there are a surprising number of homeless school-age youth in the State’s wide-spread rural areas. Urban and rural homeless populations face some of the same difficulties but there are distinct differences as well, particularly in terms of the availability of services. The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has announced the availability of funds, through the McKinney Vento Grant Program, to support Local Educational Agency (LEA) programs that provide students in temporary housing (homeless) with the services and supports needed to enroll, attend, and succeed in school. The McKinney Vento Program will provide eligible public school districts, BOCES, and charter schools (as individual LEAs or as part of a consortium) with up to 3 years of funds to implement an approved program designed to help homeless students succeed.
Potential Baseline Grant Program award amounts are dependent upon the average of applicant homeless students over the past 3 school years and range from up to $40,000 (100-200 students) to up to $2.2 million (>50,000 students). If awarded the requested funding will be available for each of the 3 years of the program based on the previous year’s success. In addition to the Baseline Grant Program, funding is available for applicants to develop an Enhanced Grant Program and includes up to an additional $20,000 for Trauma Sensitive Schools to implement trauma-sensitive programming.
Applicants are strongly encouraged by NYSED to complete a Needs Assessment to inform and include in their applications, and which is part of the scoring rubric. Via Evaluation Grant Writing and Evaluation staff can help you help your area’s homeless children succeed in school, either through grant writing and program development assistance or through creation, implementation and analysis of the recommended Needs Assessment…or both! Via Evaluation’s staff has a wealth of experience with the McKinney Vento Program and several personnel trained in trauma-informed care.
To discuss your McKinney Vento grant application with our informed staff, contact us at 716-362-0627.
