E-mail exchange between Barbara Duffield, National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, and Stanley Garrett, U.S. Department of Education.
Original message from Barbara Duffield: September 6, 2005
"We are requesting clarification of child nutrition policies in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The USDA memo issued on August 31st implies that families moving to less affected states will be required to complete applications for free meals (the last bullet on page two). It is our understanding that such families, who generally qualify as homeless under the McKinney-Vento Act, do not need to fill out applications, and that schools may include them on a list, as per "normal" homeless procedures (which includes confirmation by homeless school district liaison or shelter director). Many states outside of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama are receiving large numbers of newly homeless children and youth. Your help in clarifying this point is greatly appreciated! Thank you."
Response from Stanley Garrett: September 6, 2005
"Barbara, we envision that it could happen in several ways. In most cases, yes the homeless school liaison or shelter director will provide a list of children affected. However, there may be cases where school officials will complete an application on behalf of a family that is unknown to the homeless liaison, and some families may complete an application on their own. In all cases, the affected children are eligible for free meals. We were just trying to cover all bases. Hope this is helpful."
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