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    Policy Analysis

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    JosephCerniglia
    This document analyzes Title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, which seeks to address barriers to education for homeless children and youth. It provides an overview of the act and the issues facing homeless students. It then analyzes the act through social, historical, economic, political, and policy evaluation frameworks. Key points include that the act mandates equal access to public education for homeless children and aims to break the cycle of intergenerational homelessness. However, implementation challenges and lack of funding threaten the efficacy of the policies. Current reform proposals seek to expand upon rather than replace McKinney-Vento.

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    Policy Analysis

    Uploaded by

    JosephCerniglia
    852 views9 pages
    This document analyzes Title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, which seeks to address barriers to education for homeless children and youth. It provides an overview of the act and the issues facing homeless students. It then analyzes the act through social, historical, economic, political, and policy evaluation frameworks. Key points include that the act mandates equal access to public education for homeless children and aims to break the cycle of intergenerational homelessness. However, implementation challenges and lack of funding threaten the efficacy of the policies. Current reform proposals seek to expand upon rather than replace McKinney-Vento.

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    McKinney Vento

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    This document analyzes Title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, which seeks to address barriers to education for homeless children and youth. It provides an overview of the act and the issues facing homeless students. It then analyzes the act through social, historical, economic, political, and policy evaluation frameworks. Key points include that the act mandates equal access to public education for homeless children and aims to break the cycle of intergenerational homelessness. However, implementation challenges and lack of funding threaten the efficacy of the policies. Current reform proposals seek to expand upon rather than replace McKinney-Vento.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    852 views9 pages

    Policy Analysis

    Uploaded by

    JosephCerniglia
    This document analyzes Title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, which seeks to address barriers to education for homeless children and youth. It provides an overview of the act and the issues facing homeless students. It then analyzes the act through social, historical, economic, political, and policy evaluation frameworks. Key points include that the act mandates equal access to public education for homeless children and aims to break the cycle of intergenerational homelessness. However, implementation challenges and lack of funding threaten the efficacy of the policies. Current reform proposals seek to expand upon rather than replace McKinney-Vento.

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    of 9

    Running head: EDUCATION OF HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTHS

    A Social Policy Analysis of Title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless


    Assistance Act of 1987: Education of Homeless Children and Youths
    Joseph Cerniglia
    University of South Carolina

    EDUCATION OF HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTHS

    A Social Policy Analysis of Title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless


    Assistance Act of 1987: Education of Homeless Children and Youths
    Overview
    Title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 seeks to address the
    issues of educating homeless children and youth. Homeless children face barriers to compulsory
    education. This problem affects school-aged children and youth. Homeless children and youth,
    for the purposes of the McKinney-Vento Act are defined as, individuals who lack a fixed,
    regular, and adequate nighttime residence (McKinney-Vento, 1987). This definition represents a
    broad understanding that allows for a multitude of living situations children may face that does
    not necessarily demand the child is living outdoors. According to Jozefowicz-Simbeni & Israel
    (2006) homeless children face [barriers] including lack of transportation, residency restrictions,
    lack of personal and school records, guardianship problems, and a lack of resources such as
    clothing and school supplies. Furthermore, these students are at a greater risk of academic,
    behavioral, and attendance issues (Jozefowicz-Simbeni & Israel, 2006).
    In passing McKinney-Vento the Congress found that:
    The [United States] faces an immediate and unprecedented crisis due to the lack
    of shelter for a growing number of individuals and families, includingchildren;
    The causes of homelessness are many and complex, and homeless individuals
    have diverse needs; And, the Federal Government has a clear responsibility
    and an existing capacity to fulfill a more effective and responsible role to meet the
    basic human needs and to engender respect for the human dignity of the homeless.
    (McKinney-Vento, 1987)

    EDUCATION OF HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTHS

    The main components of McKinney-Vento demand equal access to education for


    homeless children and youth. The basis for universal social allocation of educating homeless
    children is that this allows for greater productivity as a labor resource (Rouse, et. al., 2005).
    Selectively, these children are able to receive a more adequate education and do not face the
    discrimination of denied access. This policy utilizes the Department of Education and grants to
    assist states in providing access to schools for homeless children. These grants come in the form
    of money for state and local activities and sub-grants for local educational agencies.
    Historical Analysis
    McKinney-Vento was the firstand remains the onlymajor federal statutory response
    to homelessness For this reason, the problem of homelessness among children and youth
    spiraled to a crisis level and demanded federal intervention. In 1987, the Stewart B. McKinney
    Homeless Assistance Act was signed by President Ronald Reagan establishing fifteen programs
    providing supports such as emergency shelters, transitional and permanent housing, vocational
    training, health care, and education (NCH, 2009). McKinney-Vento has been reauthorized
    several times, most recently in 2001 with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act. (NCHE,
    2008).
    McKinney was a principle sponsor of the Urgent Relief for the Homeless Act which was
    intensely advocated by McKinney and others. Shortly after passage, McKinney died from
    complications of AIDS and the law was renamed in his honor becoming the Stewart B.
    McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. In 2001, with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act,
    the law was renamed to honor Vento who also cosponsored the original legislation and worked
    tirelessly to expand and enrich it. (History of the McKinney Act, 2014)

    EDUCATION OF HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTHS

    Social Analysis
    The available research on the subject of homeless children and youth is clear: forcesof
    emotional and behavioral disorders, physical health problems, developmental delays[and]
    family circumstances of financial troubles, substance abuse, and mental and physical health
    issuesconspire to nearly eliminate the homeless child from public school education. Although
    homelessness can affect any population, the odds of facing this issue increase for African
    American children. Due to the nature of homelessness, researchers can only estimate the number
    of homeless children and youth and it is likely that these estimates undercount the reality.
    (Jozefowicz-Simbeni & Israel, 2006)
    Homelessness may be influenced by social learning perspective which can asserts
    individuals learn behavior they will later exhibit by observing what others do and seeing the
    consequences of these actions (Cherlin, 2013). This perspective might associate the cycle of
    homelessness with the learning children undergo as homeless children that translate into them
    becoming homeless adults.
    The dominant American culture values work, money, material possessions, and
    independence (Sheafor & Horejsi, 2012, p. 355). For this reason, homeless individuals and
    homeless children specifically may not receive value inputs from American society. McKinneyVento, in seeking to normalize the educational experience for homeless children, demands equal
    value for homeless children to that received by children not experiencing homelessness
    (McKinney-Vento, 1987). Similarly, the National Association of Social Workers (1999), in its
    Code of Ethics, demands respect for the dignity and worth of [each] person including but not
    limited to homeless children and youth.

    EDUCATION OF HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTHS


    The goal of McKinney-Ventos policy on homeless children and youth is to ensure equal
    access to public education and eliminate the institutional barriers to access. The hypothesis
    behind McKinney-Vento is that by broadening access to education for homeless children and
    youth, this will break up the intergenerational cycle of homelessness. (McKinney-Vento, 1987)
    Economic Analysis
    In a macroeconomic analysis of the problems of homeless children and youth, the
    economy experiences a labor market hit as evidenced by Rouse, et. al. (2005). The argument
    made by the researchers is that the barriers in education and the effects of dropout cost the U.S.
    Treasury up to $50 billion annually in lost tax revenue or $60,000 per individual who does not
    complete high school. At its peak, McKinney-Vento received $1.49 billion in appropriations
    (NCH, 2006) in 1995. For a program that has a cost of less than $1.5 billion to have a potential
    return of up to $50 billion, the program more than meets its opportunity cost. (Rouse, et. al.,
    2005)
    McKinney-Vento has a large effect from a microeconomic standpoint as well. The act
    defers the individual costs of public education that would be prohibitive without its measures.
    These individual costs range from transportation to food to school supplies among other
    accommodations (NCHE, 2008).
    Political Analysis
    The major political stakeholders of this policy are a vocal but minority amalgam of
    children, homelessness, and education advocates. Because homeless children lack political
    power, advocates must rely on the empathy and hopefulness of the general population to aid in
    the support of McKinney-Vento. Furthermore, homeless children do not have a voiced

    EDUCATION OF HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTHS

    representation in the implementation and development of this policy and must rely on the voices
    of their advocates such as the National Coalition for the Homeless, the National Center for
    Homeless Education, the Department of Education, members of congress, and members of state
    governments among others.
    To the extent that the crisis of homelessness among children and youth reached a near
    tipping point, this change was mostly brought about by conflict. Child homelessness first
    surfaced in the U.S. as a social problem in the mid-1980s. Before that time, families and children
    were not homeless in significant numbers except during the Great Depression (NCFH, 2010).
    This represents a building up of a problem for which there is and has been no redress.
    McKinney-Vento represents a stopgap effort to eliminate one aspect of this crisis; specifically the
    barriers to homeless children and youth receiving adequate educational opportunity (McKinneyVento, 1987).
    Policy Evaluation
    Although McKinney Vento has created valuable programs that have saved lives and
    helped hundreds of thousands of Americans to regain stability[and] homeless childrens access
    to school has improved significantly, Congress has cut funding for this policy several times
    since McKinney-Vento came about. Despite the positive effect of this policy, the changing of the
    political climate often leads to lessening of funds. (NCH, 2006)
    There is, however, a lack of knowledge and implementation surrounding the McKinneyVento Act. Furthermore, the nature of homeless childrens and youths instability leads to
    barriers to service delivery. Areas for improvement are in developing a system to identify and
    track homeless students and families, providing in-service training to educate staff about the

    EDUCATION OF HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTHS

    McKinney-Vento Act, and conducting outreach efforts to local shelters to provide information to
    homeless students and families regarding the act and their rights. Seeing that implementation is
    the largest concern, a reduction in available funding is only likely to exacerbate these challenges
    and limit the efficacy of McKinney-Vento. (Jozefowicz-Simbeni & Israel, 2006)
    Current Proposals for Policy Reform
    Because McKinney-Vento has been so successful in a variety of ways, no
    recommendations for policy reform seek to improve it as a standalone policy. However,
    proposals for reform follow a trend of seeking to expand upon McKinney-Vento. To expand upon
    the stopgap nature of McKinney-Vento, reform proposals attempt to include measures that focus
    less on emergency measures and work towards ending the problem of homelessness overall.
    (NCH, 2006).
    Conclusions
    McKinney-Vento represents a great stride in addressing the problem of emergency
    response to homelessness. The overwhelming problem of homelessness in the United States
    demands response and McKinney-Vento is an excellent first step towards addressing this issue.
    Specifically, the efforts towards protecting children from the barriers to adequate education
    achieve an unprecedented gain. However, the problems of homelessness cannot be resolved by
    emergency relief efforts and require a greater commitment towards addressing lack of jobs that
    pay a living wage, inadequate benefits for those who cannot work, lack of affordable housing,
    and lack of access to health care before the problems of homelessness can be relieved. (NCH,
    2006)

    EDUCATION OF HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTHS

    References
    Cherlin, A. (2013). Public and private families: An introduction. (7th ed.). New York, NY:
    McGraw-Hill
    Jozefowicz-Simbeni, D., & Israel, N. (2006). Services to Homeless Students and Families: The
    McKinney-Vento Act and Its Implications for School Social Work Practice. Children &
    Schools , 28 (1 ), 3744. doi:10.1093/cs/28.1.37
    McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act [McKinney-Vento] (1987). 42 U.S.C. 11431-11435.
    Education for Homeless Children and Youths.
    National Association of Social Workers [NASW], (1999). Code of ethics of the National
    Association of Social Workers. Washington, DC: NASW Press
    National Center for Homeless Education [NCHE], (2008). Law into practice: The McKinneyVento Act at a glance. Retrieved from
    http://center.serve.org/nche/downloads/briefs/reauthorization.pdf
    National Center on Family Homelessness [NCFH], (2010). Americas youngest outcasts 2010.
    Retrieved from
    http://www.homelesschildrenamerica.org/media/NCFH_AmericaOutcast2010_web_0328
    12.pdf
    National Coalition for the Homeless [NCH], (2009). Public policy recommendations: McKinneyVento reauthorization. Retrieved from
    http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/2009Policy/HMV.pdf

    EDUCATION OF HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTHS

    National Coalition for the Homeless [NCG], (2006). Fact sheet 18: McKinney-Vento Act.
    Retrieved from http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/facts/McKinney.pdf
    Popple, P. & Leighninger, L., (2011). The policy-based profession: An introduction to social
    welfare policy analysis for social workers. (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon
    Rouse, C., Barrow, L., Belfield, C., Feenberg, D., Krueger, A., & Levin, H., (2005). The Labor
    Market Consequences of an Inadequate Education. Retrieved from
    http://www.literacycooperative.org/documents/TheLaborMarketConsequencesofanInadequa
    teEd.pdf
    Sheafor, B., & Horejsi, C., (2012). Techniques and guidelines for social work practice. (9th ed.).
    Upper Saddle River, NJ: Allyn & Bacon
    William & Mary School of Education. (Retrieved on 2014, April 10). History of the McKinney
    Act. Retrieved from http://education.wm.edu/centers/hope/resources/mckinneyact/

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