The McKinney-Vento Act and Children and Youth ... - State of Michigan

3. Ensure that states and counties establish interagency
task forces, steering committees, and agreements.
None of the recommendations in this report, in either practice or policy, can
be successful without ongoing, effective collaboration between child welfare
and education agencies. Such collaboration must include both informal
relationships and regular meetings to discuss concerns and adjust policies
and practices based on lessons learned. It should also include cross-training
between agencies. The interagency agreements or memoranda that result
from collaboration must address all the points necessary to ensure immediate
enrollment, school stability, transportation, and services.
4. Ensure that both education and child welfare
agencies have designated staff with sufficient
training, capacity, and resources to ensure
immediate enrollment, attendance, and services.
Youth in out-of-home care will not receive the full benefit of the McKinney-
Vento Act unless designated staff are able to fully implement it. Therefore,
both McKinney-Vento state coordinators and homeless liaisons must have
the capacity and resources to implement the law for all eligible children,
both those experiencing homelessness and those in out-of-home care. Child
welfare agencies also must designate education specialists to ensure that the
agency meets its responsibility to support youth’s educational success.
5. Clarify education-related roles and responsibilities
and ensure that school staff know who the decisionmaker
is for each student.
Youth in out-of-home care tend to have many adults and agencies involved
in their lives. Schools must know which of those adults is authorized to and
responsible for enrolling the youth in school, deciding between the school
of origin and the local school, and requesting and arranging transportation.
Further, education and child welfare agencies should establish protocols for
addressing questions and disputes that may arise regarding the application of
the McKinney-Vento Act.
56 The McKinney-Vento Act and Children and Youth Awaiting Foster Care Placement