Questions and Answers for McKinney-Vento Homeless Grant

Do I need to do a narrative for each proposed activity on the chart or just fill in the activity portion of the chart?

The narrative must be completed exactly as described in the application. The chart is a summary format only, not a substitution for the proposal narrative. Follow the application guidelines and scoring rubric carefully.

Summer programs-- what type of programs are allowed and what are not?

Guidance from the United States Department of Education (USDOE) specifies that funds may be used for: “Tutoring, supplemental instruction, and other educational services that help homeless children and youth reach the same challenging State content and State student performance standards to which all children are held. As clearly specified in the ESEA, as reauthorized by the NCLB Act, all academic enrichment programs for disadvantaged students, including programs for homeless students, must be aligned with State standards and curricula. Additionally, when offering supplemental instruction, LEAs should focus on providing services for children and youth that reflect scientifically based research as the foundation for programs and strategies to ensure academic success.”

If summer school programs are to be offered they must conform to the above guidelines and should be offered to homeless students who are at risk of not advancing to the next grade or at risk of dropping out of high school.

SED staff will verify, via BEDS data reports, the number of homeless students being served by the applicant. However, BOCES do not enroll homeless students and they are counted by their home districts. How do BOCES apply?

BOCES can apply if they provide all the services described in the Proposal Narrative to at least 50 homeless students from school districts wishing to receive the services for their homeless students from BOCES. Or, BOCES can apply as part of a consortium of school districts. In this case, BOCES must provide at least some of the services described in the Proposal Narrative. In a consortium, various members may provide various parts of the entire program.

Please confirm the age range for children attending pre-school that will be eligible to receive services.

Preschool services for homeless children can be provided to children under 4 years old. The narrative must describe the exact preschool services to be provided and ages of the children to be served.

The USDOE guidance states that funds may be used for: “Developmentally appropriate early childhood education programs for homeless children of preschool age that are not provided through other Federal, State, or local funds.”

The homeless totals I have now are not going to match the BEDS totals reported in October. Is that going to negatively impact my budget score?

If you have totals different from what you reported to BEDS in October, please submit the BEDS number submitted in October along with your new homeless student number and provide justification for the discrepancy in the numbers. If you are currently funded by McKinney-Vento and you submitted LOUISE enrollment data, you may use the LOUISE data but please explain any discrepancy with the BEDS data and how discrepancies will be corrected.

Question #6:

Do I have to show data under each of the categories as is required in the LOUISE report, or do I simply have to indicate the method of data collection used each year?

We do not anticipate continuing LOUISE for next year; therefore, indicate the method to be used to collect this data.

The RFP requests data for the following: Performance data for grades 3-12 for reading and math; number of children who remained in the school of origin; Average length of time between when a student first tries to enroll in school and when that student attends classes. Regarding the requests above, do we provide data from the School District, the homeless population served by our LEA, or both?

The data from the School District and the homeless population served by our LEA should be the same. Please describe how the district will collect data on students who are homeless. This data must be kept on file in the district and made available to SED upon request.

The RFP states that "Computer and other hardware costs are not allowed." Does that include graphing calculators and audio/video I-pods?

Costs are allowed only for salaries and services, not hardware costs including audio/video I-pods. If graphing calculators are a class requirement, McKinney-Vento funds may be used for this purpose.

The RFP states that in order to be eligible for funding, the LEA must have a minimum of 50 homeless students that will be provided with the services described in the narrative. Can youth at risk of homelessness (i.e., those who have runaway or are talking about running away) be included in this count? May youth that have dropped out of school be served through this proposal?

No, youth must be homeless students included in the LEA’s BEDS count, therefore they must be enrolled in the LEA seeking a grant and only LEAs may apply.

Can we identify CBO's after receiving the grant?

No, CBOs that provide services to homeless students must be identified in advance with specific services to be provided detailed in the narrative along with staff roles and responsibilities.

BEDS data is based on a census in October. Are the LEA's limited to the amount of money they can apply for based on the BEDS number even if the BEDS number is lower than the number of homeless students the LEA is currently serving and plans to continue to serve? Example: Nor'easter on April 15, 2007 not only flooded schools but dislocated numerous families in the lower Hudson region.

Please see response above about BEDS data.

Concerning the displaced families due to flooding, please see the following guidance from the United States Department of Education (USDOE):

When children and their families are displaced from their housing as a result of a natural disaster, there is often a period of instability in which various private organizations and local, State, and Federal agencies provide assistance. SEAs and LEAs should determine such children’s eligibility for McKinney-Vento services on a case-by-case basis. In making this determination, they should take into consideration the services that are available through other sources.

Following a disaster, one of the LEA’s first priorities is to re-open impacted schools as soon as possible and take steps to normalize school routines. LEAs should then proceed to examine whether children who have been displaced by the natural disaster are eligible for McKinney-Vento services on a case-by-case basis. In such circumstances, the Department would provide technical assistance and other assistance, as available, to help the LEA.

Do we know what the indirect cost rate will be for the 07/08 school year?

No indirect cost is allowed.

Under the Evaluation Plan could there be an explanation or example of the "specific rigorous, quantifiable measurements that will be used to assess the effectiveness of the project activities and services.

No, there is no sample provided.

Under the allowable service, "staff development and awareness," can we purchase staff development curriculum developed by a university?

Staff development and awareness should be focused on the requirements and responsibilities of LEAs to students who are homeless as listed in the McKinney-Vento Act; the New York State Education Law §3209 and New York Commissioner’s Regulations 100.2(x). Since NYS-TEACHS provides staff development and awareness for free, there should be no cost requests for staff development and awareness.

We understand that the types of services allowed under this grant include "parent education related to rights and resources for children" - Please describe the types of allowable programs?

According to USDOE guidance, McKinney-Vento funds may be used for: “Education and training programs for parents of homeless children and youth regarding the rights their children have as homeless individuals and regarding the educational and other resources available to their children”. No other education and training programs for parents will be allowed.

Can shelters and/or organizations provide field trips exclusively to homeless students after school or during school breaks?

No. According to USDOE guidance, funds may only be used for the excess cost of transportation not otherwise provided through Federal, State, or local funds, to enable homeless students to attend schools selected under section 722(g)(3) of the McKinney-Vento Act.

Emergency assistance for attendance-- please give examples or explain what would be considered emergency assistance?

According to USDOE guidance, funds may be used to provide extraordinary or emergency services to eligible students as necessary to enroll and retain such children and youth in school. An example would be the provision of a school uniform if it is a requirement or other clothing articles if they are necessary to stay in school.

Should I include information on the programs that have been developed through the previous three-year grant as well as proposals for this grant? In other words, would the grant application be viewed more favorably if I can show existing efforts to eliminate barriers to education for homeless students, which would continue under the new grant, or is it better to propose new programs to address the remaining barriers? Or both, which is what I am planning to do.

You should include all activities that you plan to conduct for the next three years to eliminate barriers. That may include continuing as well as new activities, if any.

Under the “barriers to the education of children and youth who are homeless”: What sort of information is required? What is being done currently or what could be done with additional funding?

Describe what you will do over the next three years to eliminate barriers to the education of children and youth who are homeless.

If I have grant questions after 4/24, who do I ask?

The deadline for submitting questions was 4-24-07

I am interested in finding out the approximate date that successful grant applicants will be notified.