Announcing Local Educational Agency Homeless Liaison Training Dates

INFORMATIONAL LETTER NO: 35
POLICY CODE: JLG

TO: Superintendents of Schools

FROM: Susan A. Gendron

DATE: October 24, 2007

RE: Announcing Local Educational Agency Homeless Liaison Training Dates

Subtitle B of Title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.) amended and reauthorized as part of the No Child Left Behind Act, stipulates, “local educational agencies will designate an appropriate staff person, who may also be coordinator for other Federal programs, as a local education agency liaison for homeless children and youth.” Training sessions for local homeless liaisons will be held October through November.

Participants will receive training pertaining to:

local implementation of the McKinney-Vento Act
identification of homeless youth and children in their school administrative units
conducting sessions to raise awareness of and sensitivity to homeless issues with staff and students, and
ensuring the enrollment and educational participation of homeless children and unaccompanied youth.

The training sessions are an integrated training for school homeless liaisons and Keeping Maine’s Children Connected liaisons. The initial training is designed for new liaisons and for those who have not been previously trained. Cross training provides the opportunity for sharing of youth practices and policies across agencies. Keeping Maine’s Children Connected is a Children’s Cabinet initiative which helps youth who experience educational disruption due to homelessness, foster care placement, in-patient psychiatric care and correctional facility placement. As the liaison in schools may be the same person for both positions the training is now integrated.

The remaining training session dates and locations are:

Presque Isle	Career Center, 66 Spruce Street	8:00-1:00	October 30, 2007
Machias	Department of Health And Human Services, 13 Prescott Street	8:00-1:00	November 29, 2007

Two hour regional meetings are held twice a year in the fall and spring for a discussion on general information and updates on issues and polices affecting youth who have experienced school disruption due to homelessness, foster care placement, in-patient psychiatric care, and correctional facility placement.

The remaining Fall Regional Liaison Meetings dates and locations are as follows:

Presque Isle	Career Center, 66 Spruce Street	1:00-3:00	October 30, 2007
Lewiston	Dingley Building, 36 Oak Street	10:00-12:00	November 1, 2007
Augusta	Department of Health and Human Services, 35 Anthony Avenue	10:00-12:00	November 6, 2007
Bangor	United Technology Center, Hogan Road	11:00-1:00	November 15, 2007
Machias	Department of Health And Human Services, 13 Prescott Street	1:00-3:00	November 29, 2007

Please confirm attendance with Anne Mathieson at 822-0126 or mailto:anne.mathieson@maine.gov . For additional information contact Shelley Reed, Homeless Education Coordinator, Department of Education, 23 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333-0023, 624-6637 or e-mail at mailto:shelley.reed@maine.gov .