Preventing Student Homelessness Program

Emergency assistance may be provided for services authorized for funding under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act in addition to assistance for other housing-related needs such as rental assistance, utilities, and critical home repairs and other assistance that will help a student avoid homelessness. This funding should be used for emergency needs and work to prevent student homelessness. This funding must be used for direct payment to a vendor for a service, such as a landlord or utility company, and requires invoices. This funding cannot be distributed directly to families or students.

Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (per Title IX, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act) authorizes the allowable usages of McKinney-Vento local educational agency subgrant funds here. Other allowable uses include:

• Housing-related needs, rental assistance, security deposits, hotel/motel stays
• Utilities, heating, electricity, water
• Critical home repairs, fixing broken windows, roof repair, floor repair, a working kitchen, plumbing, electrical, or other health and safety home repairs, provision of potable water and sewer, energy conservation, removal/mitigation of lead-based paint, asbestos, radon, or other hazardous material, and removal/mitigation of pests, vermin, or mold
• The provision of assistance to defray the excess cost of transportation for students where necessary to enable students to attend the school selected
• The provision of other extraordinary or emergency assistance needed to enable homeless children and youths to attend school and participate fully in school activities (examples may include car repairs if the student is residing in the vehicle, or the vehicle is the primary method the child is transported to and from school, or furniture if the housing would otherwise be determined inadequate under the definition of McKinney-Vento, for example, the child did not have a bed)

Any student enrolled in a SAU who is at-risk of or actively experiencing homelessness, in the amount of up to $750 per student, per fiscal year funding application submitted by the SAU on Grants4ME. If a family has two students, that could be up to $1,500; three students, $2,250, etc., from the SAU's available allocation. It will be determined at the local level on how to handle referrals. If a partner organization brings a referral to the SAU about a family who could benefit from this program, it is still up to the liaison and team to determine how to allocate the funding.

This program does not apply to students who are not enrolled in the SAU, such as adult education, homeschooling, higher education institutions, or early childhood without a public pre-K program.

Fiscal Year 2025 (Year 2) funds must be spent between July 1, 2024, and March 31, 2026. Final invoices must be submitted on Grants4ME by May 1, 2026.

This will be a local decision made with the McKinney-Vento liaison. Some SAUs have decided to send a form to all social workers and counselors in the SAU to identify existing needs and then determine where to allocate funding. It is the responsibility of the SAU to communicate with any other SAUs that a child was enrolled in during this school year to determine if they have already received the funding. This could be done as a part of the Best Interest Determination process, when liaisons are in communication already.

Coordinate with the business so that families sign a waiver accepting any liability. One example is a district who created an MOU with a local hotel that included that the school district is not liable for any damages incurred. See: Monterey Peninsula Unified Rate Agreement with Motel 6

SAUs and education utility trusts who opt to receive this funding will be required to submit a brief activities report on June 1, 2024, through Grants4ME. Reporting elements for the report will include total amount of funding accessed, by category, what other sources of funding were pursued to meet the identified needs, and how this funding impacted students and their education.

In the spring of 2024, the Maine DOE will reallocate any remaining Preventing Student Homelessness Pilot Program funds for the 2023–2024 school year that were declined by SAUs.

SAUs can refer families to other community resources like General Assistance (GA), Community Action Programs, charitable donations, Regional Care Teams, Maine Housing Hub coordinators, Maine Housing Navigators, Utility Company Programs for those in need, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, etc. Local educational agencies should encourage families to disclose the receipt of these funds to their GA office if they are accessing GA.