Paula Gumina, Operati ons CoordinatorColorado Department of Educati on

Mary Giggy, F inancial Aid AdvisorAims Community Col lege

Cyekeia Lee, Director of Higher Educati on Initi ati ves

NAEHCY

Heidi Markey, Associate Director of Financial Aid

University of Denver

Breaking the Cycle of Poverty:A Blueprint for States in Supporting Unaccompanied

Homeless Youth in Achieving Postsecondary Goals

November 15, 2015

2

Strategies for the creation and implementation of a statewide Single Point of Contact model;

How unaccompanied homeless youth are engaged in postsecondary workforce readiness efforts;

Efforts to support unaccompanied homeless youth from SPOCs themselves;

Promising practices in your state for building state level networks, and training and supporting SPOCs

Participants will leave with an understanding of:

3

“I knew that I didn’t want to be homeless for the rest of my life, and I saw education as the sure path to a more secure future. Hard work does not intimidate; a vacuous future does. To succeed in college is to succeed in life, and never again have to live the way I am living now.”

- Ashleigh, 2005 LeTendre Scholar and Formerly Homeless Student

Move toward a brighter, more stable future

Break the Cycle of Poverty

Landscape

4

In the 2013-2014 school year, 1,360,747 homeless children and youth were reported as enrolled in U.S. Public Schools

2/3 of homeless adults do not have a high school diploma or GED

10% of all children living in poverty are homeless

A National Perspective

Source: National Center for Homeless Education http://center.serve.org/nche/ and National Association for the Education for Homeless Children and Youth www.naehcy.org

6

Expanded definition of “independent student” to include UHY Youth who are:

Unaccompanied and homeless, or Unaccompanied, self-supporting and at-risk of homelessness any time

during the school year in which they sign the FAFSA

CONSIDERED INDEPENDENT

College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007

7

Verification is not required If choose to verify, authorized entities are:

McKinney-Vento Act school district liaison

HUD homeless assistance program director or their designee

Runaway and Homeless Youth Act program director or their designee

A Financial Aid Administrator (FAA)

Sample verification template at www.naehcy.org

College Cost Reduction & Access ActVerification

8

July 29th Dear Colleague Letter

What is the SPOC Model?

9

A safe, single point of contact (SPOC) at each college/university to serve UHY

Access Wrap- around retention model streamlined process to other services within college/university

Created common resources and processes for assisting UHY get to and through postsecondary.

It’s Replicable!

11

Understand the definition of homeless used in the College Cost Reduction and Access Act

Distributing awareness materials Referring homeless students to campus office or community

agencies that can provided needed support Training, encouraging collaboration and building relationships

among offices or programs that can provide support to students in need

How SPOCs help to serve Unaccompanied Homeless Youth

Single Point of Contact Model

National Efforts

State Level Partners

Grassroots efforts State Policy

• Institutions of Higher Education

• National Supports

Levels of Collaboration

Blueprint

13

“Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.”

– Helen Keller

Who is on the bus?

FAFSA

14

15

Strategic Opportunities

Partnership

Communication

Support

Information

16

Who are the like minded champions?

What audiences can be trained to make meaningful impacts?

How can you offer supports through partnership and communication?

Where can you access meaningful data and information?

Action Planning

The Grassroots Implementers

Institutions of Higher Education

17

18

Engaging like minded champions at the higher education campusesCreation of the “SPOC” network to continue the good work of our

K-12 district liaisons. Need for a common understanding of the LAW. Conversations around access and unnecessary barriers. Overview of McKinney-Vento program eligibility Discussions about specific situations, resources, and best practices

The First SPOC Training

19

NAEHCY Higher Education Helpline and Support 1-855-446-2673

Gained the Colorado Association of Financial Aid Administrator’s support of a common verification form.

Helped revise Application and Verification Guide (AVG) for financial aid professionals.

New “Dear Colleague Letter” from the Department of Education (July 29, 2015) regarding verification and proper interview techniques.

Continued SPOC Training and Support

Maintaining What Has Been Built

Systems of Support

20

21

Orientation email Toolkit Tip sheet Local resources and partners AVG Excerpt

Annual training Who are UHY? CCRAA Role of the SPOC Recommended Practice for Financial

Aid Administrators Building Regional Coalitions National Efforts

Technical Assistance Contact Updated SPOC list Website

http://www.cde.state.co.us/dropoutprevention/homeless_highered

Colorado Department of Education

22

Updates from NAEHCY Higher Education Committee

Addressing Common Barriers

State UpdatesK-12 Liaisons

Colorado Taskforce on Higher Education for Unaccompanied

Youth Experiencing Homelessness

23

Create a support system on campusHousing for Students Living on CampusAward Work-studyGift CardsCare PackagesRental Resources Food and Hygiene Pantries Familiarity with county and state support servicesCheck-ins

Don’t be afraid to advocate for your students!

Recommended Practice

24

After CCRAAFederal Student Aid Handbook’s Application and Verification

Guide outlined Financial Aid process for UHY http://ifap.ed.gov/fsahandbook/1516FSAHandbookAVG.html

2015 U.S. Department of Education’s Dear Colleague LetterClarifies Institutional role and responsibility to UHY

determinations Includes homeless status determinations for 22 and 23 year

olds meeting definition of being unaccompanied and homeless http://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/attachments/GEN1516Attach.pdf

Federal Guidance

25

Composed of higher education and homeless education professionals that meet regularly to discuss topics related to homeless youth and higher education access

2012 Director of Higher Education Initiatives role emerged out of growing need to support homeless youth that access higher educationStatewide networks development and TA expanded with

under NAEHCY’s HEI (Higher Education Initiative)2012 Higher Education Helpline Established: 855-446-2673 or

highered@naehcy.org

NAEHCY Higher Education Services Committee

26

Podcast Series: http://naehcy.org/educational-resources/podcasts

Webinars: http://naehcy.org/educational-resources/webinars Toolkit:

http://naehcy.org/higher-ed/access-success-web-series

Other resources on higher education webpage: http://naehcy.org/educational-resources/higher-ed

NAEHCY Resources

National Snapshot

27

29

Start Small

What Are Other Networks Doing?

Watch for Changes in Policy and Recommended Practice

Practice Across the Nation

30

Financial Aid Determinations

State Residency

Yearlong Housing

Continued Work with Federal Student Aid

Continued Partnerships

Ongoing Legislative Efforts

Working to Address Challenges

31

Cyekeia Lee, Director of Higher Educati on Initi ati ves NAEHCY

Email: clee@naehcy.org Toll-free helpline: (855)-446-2673highered@naehcy.org

Paula Gumina, Operati ons CoordinatorColorado Department of Educati on P: 303.866.6372Gumina_p@cde.state.co.us

Heidi MarkeyAssociate Director, AdvisingFinancial AidUniversity of DenverP: 303.871.2331Heidi.Markey@du.edu

Mary Giggy Financial Aid AdvisorSingle Point of Contact for Independent Youth Aims Community College P: 970.339.6680mary.giggy@aims.edu

Thank you!

32