Federal Resources for Feeding Homeless Children and Youth

This 2-page brief from the Food Research and Action Center provides a concise and easily-understandable summary of the main points of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 as they pertain to homeless, migrant, and runaway students. Topics include: automatic eligibility for free school Meals, documentation of free meal eligibility, full year school eligibility, federal nutrition funds for shelters serving children and youth, and food stamps and homeless children and youth.

The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-265) expands federal child nutrition programs in several ways to assist homeless, migrant, and runaway children and youth by providing:

• Automatic eligibility for free school meals
• Streamlined procedures for documenting eligibility
• Full school year eligibility for free school meals
• Federal nutrition funds for shelters that serve children and youth up to age 18

See USDA Memo SP3 (Jul 7, 2004), which establishes a household's full school year eligibility for free or reduced price meals.
See USDA Memo SP4 (Jul 19, 2004), which establishes the categorical eligibility of homeless, migrant, and runaway children and youth, and provides instructions for documenting the eligibility of homeless children and youth served under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
See USDA Categorial Eligibility for Free Lunches and Breakfasts for Migrant Children Memo (Aug 16, 2004), which establishes the categorical eligibility of migrant students, provides instructions for documenting migrant students' eligibility, and explains the free meal program's full school year eligibility concept.
See USDA Guidance on Determining Categorical Eligibility for Free Lunches and Breakfasts for Youth Served under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act Memo (Sept 17. 2004), which establishes the categorical eligibility of runaway youth served through grant programs established under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, and provides instructions for documenting the eligibility of youth served under the Act.

This publication from the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty is designed for educators who want to know more about the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a federal law governing the transfer of, and parental access to, education records. The document provides an overview of the law and explains how its provisions impact homeless children and youth.

This guide from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) was written to help school and local education agency staff to better understand and apply FERPA, a federal law that protects privacy interests of parents and students in student education records.

The Head Start Bureau, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, added homeless preschoolers as a targeted population to be served in Head Start preschool programs. Background information on homelessness and its impact on young children, as well as implementation guidance can be found in this 1992 Information Memorandum (Log Number: ACF-IM-92-12).

This November 2004 report, compiled by the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE), provides a comparison of some of the principal provisions of the reauthorized IDEA to those of its 1997 predecessor.

IDEA 2004: A Summary of Provisions on Homeless and Foster Children and Youth

This report, authored jointly by the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) and the American Bar Association's Center on Children and the Law (ABACCL), summarizes new provisions in the 2004 reauthorization of IDEA that relate to the education of homeless and foster children and youth.

This guide to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) seeks to inform parents of children with learning disabilities so that they can partner effectively with school personnel in supporting their children's special learning and behavioral needs. Although the guide is geared to parents, its accessible language makes it a valuable tool for anyone wanting to understand more about IDEA.

Published by the National Center for Learning Disabilities and Schwab Learning, this free publication addresses the special issues, challenges and opportunities facing parents of children who struggle to learn. It introduces parents to several key parts of NCLB that they can use as tools to improve educational services for their child.

This glossary is a basic guide to the principal federal laws and programs that affect children, youth, and families experiencing homelessness. It is designed to provide local homeless education liaisons and state coordinators for homeless education with a straightforward overview of federal programs for homeless children and youth. Although it provides only basic information on each law and program, it can assist local liaisons and state coordinators in their efforts to collaborate with other agencies and provide comprehensive services to homeless children and youth.