FROM:Angela Reeter, Area V Program Director

DATE: November 15, 2016

TO:Eligible Applicants

FROM:Angela Reeter, Area V Program Director

McKinney-Vento Homeless Children and Youth Program

SUBJECT:REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP):

McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program – Area V Subgrant Proposals for Homeless Education Services

General Information

Eligible Applicants: Regional Offices of Education, school districts, public university laboratory schools approved by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), and charter schools are eligible to apply to provide services for the county/counties in which they are located and/or delegated.

Grant Award: Approximately $179,693 will be available to fund programs under this RFP in FY2017. The maximum grant amount available in each county was determined primarily by using the homeless count data reported to ISBE by each school district in Area V in addition to a $1,000 per-county-served base funding. Applicants must propose to serve all of the schools within a given county. Applicants may apply to serve more than one county in a single subgrant application. Awards are anticipated to be as follows:

ROE Region / County / CountyAllocation / Total Allocation by ROE
3 / Bond / $4,784
3 / Effingham / $7,376
3 / Fayette / $7,336
3 / Christian / $4,964
3 / Montgomery / $7,376 / $31,836
40 / Greene / $7,664
40 / Calhoun / $1,580
40 / Jersey / $5,504
40 / Macoupin / $13,244 / $27,992
41 / Madison / $48,021 / $48,021
45 / Randolph / $9,966
45 / Monroe / $5,034 / $15,000
50 / St. Clair / $56,844 / $56,844
TOTAL / $179,693 / $179,693

Funding levels are preliminary, and payment under this grant is subject to passage of a sufficient appropriation by the U.S. Congress. Obligations of the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) will cease immediately without further obligation should the agency fail to receive sufficient federal funds. Likewise, obligations of ROE #3 to fund subgrants will cease without further obligation since this funding is contingent upon ISBE receiving funding.

Grant Period: The grant period will begin no sooner than July 1, 2016 and will extend from the execution date of the grant until June 30, 2017. Continuation funding will be available for two additional fiscal years (i.e., FY2018 and FY2019) contingent upon a sufficient appropriation for the program andsatisfactory progress in the preceding fiscal year.

Application Deadline: Mail or hand-deliver the original and three (3) copies to:

Angela Reeter,Program Director

Area V McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Program

ROE #3, 1500 W. JeffersonSt., Vandalia, IL62471

to ensure receipt no laterthan 4:00 p.m.

on December 15, 2016.

Due the delay in the grant, expenses can be paid back to July 1, 2016.

Contact Person: For more information on this RFP, contact:

Angela Reeter, Area V Program Director

Area V McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Program

Or call 618-283-9311

Background

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 is authorized under Title VII, Subtitle B (42 USC 11431 et seq.) and hereinafter referred to as “the Program.” The Program was originally authorized in 1987 and, most recently, reauthorized as the McKinney-Vento Act (Title X, Part C of ESEA). The Program is designed to address the problems that homeless children and youth face in enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school. Homeless children and youth should have access to the educational and other services that they need to enable them to meet the same challenging state student academicachievement standards to which all students are held.

Under this RFP, funding is provided on a competitive basis to Lead Subgrant Liaisons serving local education agencies (LEAs) located within their respective county or counties to assist with the implementation of the provisions of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

The Homeless Assistance Act requires that each school district in the state, regardless of whether it receives a homeless program grant, meet certain conditions when educating homeless children and youth.

These conditionsinclude the following:

• Every school district must designate a local liaison for homeless children and youth who will be available to provide supportive, sensitive identification and enrollment of families with children and youth experiencing homelessness;

• The school district is prohibited from segregating a homeless student in a separate school, a separate program within a school or separate transportation based upon the student’s status as homeless;

• Each school district must adopt policies and practices to ensure that transportation is provided, at the request of the parent, guardian, unaccompanied youth, surrogate guardian or caregiver, to and from the school of origin;

• If a dispute about school enrollment arises, the school district must immediately admit a student experiencing homelessness to the school in which enrollment is sought by the parent, guardian, unaccompanied youth, surrogate guardian, or caregiver, pending resolution of the dispute;

• School placement determinations must be made on the basis of the student’s “best interest,” as defined in Section G1-2 of the non-regulatory guidance, which can be found at and when completing a student’s enrollment, each school must include in ISBE’s Student Information System (SIS) data about the homeless condition of the student enrolled.

The purpose of the RFP is to fund subgrantees to assist school district homeless liaisons in each county/counties in implementing the requirements of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Each subgrantee will be expected to provide technical assistance, training, and services to all of the school district homeless liaisons. Subgrantees are also expected to help homeless students access education, housing, and social and health related services in their county/counties of coverage. Subgrantees are expected to help ensure that each homeless child and youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education, as other children and youth.

Successful applicants must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the McKinney-Vento Act requirements; therefore, applicants are encouraged to review the federal guidance at

Program Specifications

The following is a summary of the responsibilities of the subgrantee:

1. Determine the needs of the area relative to homeless education and the families experiencing homelessness that reside in the area;

2. Provide funding to school districts for use by McKinney-Vento eligible student which will have the greatest potential for positively affecting the academic achievement of homeless children and youth of meet the greatest immediate need within the allowable uses for funding;

3. Maintain a list of the school district homeless liaisons for each school district in its area, and in situations where a school district has not yet designated a homeless liaison work with the district to make the appointment before the start of the 2016-2017 school year, and in subsequent years, if needed;

4. Provide and maintain documentation of all professional development and training to newly appointed school district homeless liaisons, as well as documentation of ongoing education, support and technical assistance provided to liaisons and others throughout the grant year and in each subsequent year of the grant;

5. Assist local liaisons and administrators as they review and revise any local policies and procedures that may act as barriers to enrollment, attendance and academic success of homeless children and youth;

6. Coordinate services between school districts and providers in the area, and upon request, provide reports to the Lead Area V Liaison staff and ISBE staff of meetings and services delivered;

7. Assist families to access services and obtain needed referrals for medical, dental, health-related, and other appropriate services;

8. Participate inthe train-the-trainer professional development session and in the monthly subgrantee meetings;

9. Ensure all school districts are following the Dispute Resolution Guidelines outlined in the Illinois State Homeless Education Plan.

In carrying out these responsibilities, subgrantees must complete the following activities:

1. Needs Assessment

In order to propose a coherent delivery system of high-quality services for homeless children and youth, an applicant must first conduct a comprehensive needs assessment. As part of this assessment, an applicant should identify the potential number of children in its area who are homeless or might become homeless. This information should be gathered from the SIS data, homeless shelters, social service agencies, and other community groups that may work with people who are homeless. Demographic characteristics of the area may also be used to gauge the likelihood that families may become homeless, and an applicant should consider: indicators of unemployment; influx of immigrants; strength of the business and industrial sectors; information from public health clinics serving low-income families with children aged 3-6; capacity of the area to provide shelter for homeless families; the numbers or proportion of low-income families residing in the area; the ability of the educational community to meet the needs of students/families in transition status; and other data that may significantly impact the potential for families to be in transitional status.

2. List of School District Homeless Liaisons

All school districts in the state, regardless of whether they receive direct funding under the McKinney-Vento Act, must designate an appropriate staff person as the school district liaison for homeless children and youth. This person may also be a coordinator of other federal programs. We do not recommend that the school district liaison be a member of the school administration. As part of its proposal, each applicant must provide a list of the school district homeless liaisons for the school district in its area. If a school district has not yet appointed a liaison, the subgrantee must work with the district to have a person assigned to the position before the start of the 2016-2017 school year, and in subsequent years of the grant. The subgrantee must maintain and make available to the Area V Lead Area Liaison and ISBE an updated list of liaisons and their contact information at the start of each school year. Changes to school district liaisons should be sent to Area V Lead Area Liaison as they occur.

3. Provision of Professional Development and Training

The subgrantee will serve as a resource for school district homeless education liaisons in the school districts located in their areas in order to assist the districts in their provision of the services and activities required under the Act. In each year of the grant, the subgrantee along with the Area V Lead Area Liaison must train new school district liaisons about the McKinney-Vento Act and their responsibilities to ensure that homeless children and youth succeed academically. The subgrantee along with the Area V Lead Area Liaison must provide an opportunity during each year of the grant period to update all school district liaisons on best practices, the requirements or changes to the Act, and any other new information. In addition, the subgrantee along with the Area V Lead Area Liaison must discuss evaluation strategies and program changes orimprovements and assist school homeless liaisons with problems that may be occurring in their districts. Each subgrantee along with the Area V Lead Area Liaison should provide professional development and training to administrators/directors/head teachers in all early childhood programs operated by the school district (birth to three years of age, preschool (three to five years of age), and Preschool Programs for Children at Risk of Academic Failure).

4. Review of Policies and Procedures

The subgrantee will work with school district homeless liaisons to review and revise any local policies that may act as barriers to enrollment and attendance of homeless children and youth. Further information about barriers can be found at

5. Coordination of Services

The subgrantee will assist school districts in coordinating their homeless efforts with other service providers and programs to provide assistance to homeless families. Coordination must be designed to:

a. Ensure that homeless children and youth have access and reasonable proximity to activities and related support services, and

b. Raise the awareness of school personnel and service providers on the effects of short-term stays in shelters and other challenges faced by homeless families that can interfere with ongoing education and training efforts.

Each subgrantee will approach the coordination of services by working with the Continuum of Care (CoC) Consortia operating in the area it will serve.

The subgrantee should encourage school district liaisons to work with other service providers (e.g., health care, nutrition, social services, and homeless shelters) in their respective districts so that homeless children and youth and their families are provided with the services and support that will meet their needs. The subgrantee needs to provide collaboration and coordination between their homeless education program and other federal programs, such as Head Start, Housing and Urban Development, Runaway and Homeless Youth Shelters, etc.

6. Assisting Homeless Families

In collaboration with school district homeless liaisons, the subgrantee will:

a. Provide information to families of homeless children and youth regarding the rights to

educational services available for their children;

b. Provide families with support and referrals to appropriate services when needs are identified as part of school enrollment;

c. Collect data on other children below the age of 6 in such families to identify the need for referral to birth-to-three programs and other early childhood programs; and

d. Refer families to community agencies providing services that may assist the families in their transitional status.

The subgrantee will ensure that the school district liaisons provide supportive services to unaccompanied youth seeking educational services from schools within the service area by either accompanying the youth to educational planning meetings or by referring the youth to an appropriate surrogate mentor to assist him or her in gaining access to education services and referrals to community agencies for additional needed services.

The subgrantee must set aside at least .05% of its grant to establish an emergency transportation fund to provide assistance to families to pay for transportation costs not already covered by federal, state, or local resources. A school district may request these funds by presenting evidence that it has exhausted all available resources for transportation, including its own set-aside funds.

7. Participation in Conferences

The subgrantee will participate in monthly subgrant meetings to discuss status, progress and any areas of concern. In addition, the subgrantee is encouraged to attend the annual Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Conference and the annual National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) Conference as part of their own professional development.

8. Dispute Resolution Guidelines

The subgrantee will help ensure that all school districts within their area are following the Dispute Resolution Guidelines which are part of Illinois’ state McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Plan which can be found on the ISBE website. The subgrantee will work with the school district to ensure that when disagreements occur between the school district and any homeless child/youth and his or her family regarding such things as enrollment or transportation, the school district immediately refers the child/youth or his or her family to the ombudsperson.

Proposal Narrative Requirements

Please respond to each requirement in the order presented below. Limit the proposal narrative to ten (10) pages.

1. Needs Assessment

a. Describe the comprehensive needs assessment undertaken to complete the proposal. The description must address each of the following areas in the order presented below.

a. Indicate the IARSS Region and/or counties that the applicant intends to serve and include the number for each category below for that area.

School Districts ______

School Buildings ______

Teachers ______

Administrators ______

Shelters ______

Community Groups ______

b. Describe the process used to determine the need for homeless services in your area. This description should at least include the entities involved in the process, the demographic and other statistical information gathered, methods used, and, as applicable, the number of homeless children and youth currently residing in the area.

c. Describe the barriers (i.e., educational and related needs) faced by homeless children and youths residing in the attendance areas of the school district to be served by the applicant. Address each barrier separately using the section headings below. Indicate the activities, as enumerated on Attachment 4 of the application (i.e., Objectives, Activities, and Measures) which will be implemented to ameliorate each of the barriers identified.

Examples of each type of barrier include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Barriers to School Enrollment faced by homeless children and youths residing in the

attendance area(s) of the school district(s) in the area to be served. For example, a barrier

exists when homeless families with children and youth are living with other families or

relatives and are routinely denied enrollment in the districts because they do not live in

shelters, lack valid leases, and lack utility or other bills.

2. Barriers to School Attendance faced by homeless children and youth residing in the

attendance area(s) of the school district(s) in the region to be served. For example, a

barrier exists when homeless children are unable to secure transportation to and from

school.

3. Barriers to School Success faced by homeless children and youths residing in the

attendance area(s) of the school district(s) in the area to be served. For example, a barrier

exists when, due to the amount of class time missed, the academic achievement levels of

homeless students in the area to be served are below grade level.

2. Program Description

a. Needs Assessment

Describe the proposed program to be implemented to address the needs and barriers identified in item 1 (Needs Assessment). The description must address each of the following areas in the order presented below.

.

b. School District Homeless Liaisons

Describe the steps to be taken to ensure that each school district in the area has a school district homeless liaison appointed before the start of the 2016-2017 school year. The