Ensuring all homeless youth have access to higher educational opportunities

Ensuring all homeless youth have access to higher educational opportunities

District School Board of Pasco County

Students In Transition

Erika Remsberg, L.C.S.W.

INTRO

TALK ABOUT A NEW OPPORTUNITY IN FLORIDA HELPING HOMELESS STUDENTS TO ACCES COLLEGEAND HOW OUR TEAM MODIFIED HOW WE SPENT OUR TIME TO BETTER SERVE HOMELESS STUDENTS

I WOULD LIKE THIS TO BE INTERACTIVE BUT WANT TO STAY ON POINT RELATIVE TO SERVICE DELIVERY AND HOMELESS STUDENTS ACCESSING HIGHER EDUCATION1AcknowledgementsBarbara Duffield, NAEHCY Policy Directorhttp://naehcy.org

Christina Dukes, SERVE Center, NCHEhttp://center.serve.org/nche/

Lorraine Allen, Florida State Liaison

Dee Dee Wright, Polk County Liaison

Dr. Lucy Garner, Retired Charlotte County

Joanne Huber, Retired Pasco County Liaison

BARBARA DUFFIELD AND CHRISTINA DUKES HAVE PUBLISHED EXCELLENT TRAININGS AND BRIEFS, IF YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THEIR WORK I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF AND HAVE INCLUDED LINKS FOR YOULORRAINE ALLEN STATE LIAISON DEE DEE WRIGHT REGION 4JOANNE HUBER BROUGHT THIS TO PASCO 20002Objectives Overview Overview of county, district and program Data from 2012-2013 school year Team overview District Vision, Team GoalsLegislative Changes Challenges (External/Internal) Resources What we did/Outcomes Data project / Survey results Progress Moving forwardLinks

VISIONLater I will provide you with links where you can obtain specific information regarding FAFSA application, ACT/SAT fee waivers and potential scholarship resources

3Pasco County, Florida Pasco county is Florida's 12th most populous county. Unemployment above state average at 11%. Serves over 67,000 students in 84 schools. 1,992 enrolled homeless students 6/2013. 56% of students qualify for free lunch. 57% of residents spend more than 30% of their income on housing. 78% of adult residents completed High School.

Head Start Community AssessmentBureau of Economic and Business Research2010 Census

42012-2013 School Year2372 Identified homeless children and youth

1992 Enrolled homeless students

283 Unaccompanied Youth

71 High school seniors

43 OF THE 71 HS SENIORS WERE UY 5Students In Transition Team (S.I.T.)District based DirectorHomeless Liaison / Social WorkerSocial WorkerData Entry Operator / Spanish Translator Part-time intern 12 weeks

Tel: 813-794-4980Fax: 813-794-4987Email: eremsber@pasco.k12.fl.us

WE HAVE A DISTRICT BASED DIRECTOR WHO HELPS US ACCESS ADMINISTRATION FOR POLICY CHANGE AND IMPLEMENTATION HE OVERSEES THE SOCIAL WORK DEPT. IN PASCO OUR ALLOCATION FOR SOCIAL WORK STAFF IS APPROX 1 SOCIAL WORKER FOR EVERY 3500 STUDENTS, SO EACH SCHOOL BASED SOCIAL WORKER COVERS 3-4 SCHOOLS THIS LIMITS SSWS ABILITY TO ASSIST FAMILIES AT SCHOOL SITES

WITHIN THE SIT PROGRAM WE HAVE 3 FULL TIME STAFF MYSELF, ANOTHER SOCIAL WORKER AND A DATA ENTRY OPERATOR. FOR 12 WEEKS A YEAR WE OFTEN GET A PART-TIME BSW OR MSW INTERN THROUGH PARTNERSHIP WITH A LOCAL UNIVERSITY.

OUR DATA ENTRY OPERATOR HANDLES CODING, FREE LUNCH AND TRANSPORTATION LOGISTICS FOR ALL HOMELESS STUDENTS, WE DO NOT RELY ON SCHOOL BASED STAFF FOR THIS6District School Board of Pasco CountyFulfilling the promise college, career and life readiness for each and every student

I heard someone say timing is as important to policy advocates as location is to real estates agents.

Homelessness is getting more attention in our state and county.

As we modified our goals and changed our practices we as a team framed these changes so that they were in line with the district vision which proved useful in garnering support.

7S.I.T. team goals

I CHOOSE A PICTURE OF A TSUNAMI BECAUSE SO OFTEN I FEEL AS IF WE ARE FACED WITH AN OVERWHELMING NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN DESPARATE SITUATIONS.

MUCH OF OUR TIME IS SPENT HELPING FOLKS COPE WITH DAILY SURVIVAL.

FOR THIS REASON IT HAS BEEN DIFFICULT FOR US TO IMPLEMENT MORE SOPHISTICATED INTERVENTIONS WHEN SO MUCH OF OUR TIME IS SPENT HANDLING CRISIS AND BASIC NEEDS.8Fee WaiversThe state of Florida offers a fee exemption to county/state colleges/universities per section 1009.25(1)(f), Florida Statutes, for those students with homeless status. IN 2012 THE FL STATE LEGISLATURE ADDED HOMELESSNESS TO THE STATUTE DEFINING THOSE POPULATIONS ELIGIBLE FOR COLLEGE FEE WAIVERS WHICH INCLUDED TUITION, LAB AND SCHOOL FEES.

IS ANYONE AWARE OF THIS AVAILABLE IN ANY OTHER STATE OR WHO WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WHAT IS AVAILABLE IN THEIR STATE?

I LEARNED ABOUT THIS DURING A PRESENTATION BY THE FL COLLEGE SYSTEM. PASCO COUNTY IS ONE OF 15 SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN REGION 4. OUR REGION THROUGH THE FACILITATION BY DEE DEE WRIGHT IN POLK COUNTY MEETS SEVERAL TIMES A YEAR TO NETWORK, SHARE INFORMATION AND PROBLEM SOLVE TOGETHER.

9Access to higher educationStudents experiencing homelessness may not even think going to college is a possibility for them

HEARING ABOUT THIS NEW OPPORTUNITY MOTIVATED OUR TEAM TO EXAMINE HOW WE COULD DO MORE TO HELP HOMELESS STUDENTS ACCESS COLLEGE

BUT THE REALITY OF HOW OUR TEAM WAS USED WITHIN OUR DISTRICT AND COUNTY NEEDED TO BE MODIFIED10Emergency Housing 2 domestic violence shelters 1 runaway/unaccompanied youth shelter serving ages 11-17 1 shelter for women and women with children 2 privately run shelters housing adults only NO FAMILY SHELTERS NO SHELTERS HOUSING MEN WITH CHILDRENAS I SAID EARLIER MOST OF OUR TIME WAS SPENT ON BASIC NEEDS ISSUES AND HERE IS PART OF THE REASON WHY. OUR COUNTY HAS LIMITED SHELTER OPTIONS.

11External Barriers Limited information about fee waiver exemption other than homelessness was now included Outdated contact information for contacts at colleges/universities Homelessness being included in statute was new for colleges/universities, no process in place, no department ownershipAlthough the statute now included fee homeless INDIVIDUALS AS ELIGIBILE FOR FEE WAIVERS there was NO INFORMATION ABOUT HOW MANY EXEMPTIONS A COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY WOULD PROVIDE OR A PROCESS IN PLACE TO USE TO ACCESS THESE WAIVERS. MUCH OF THE TIME AS WE CONTACTED THE SCHOOLS WE WERE EDUCATING THEM ABOUT THIS AND HAVING TO PROVIDE COPIES OF THE STATU

The contact list OF 76 PUBLIC COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES WE WERE provided was outdated so our first order of business was to develop an updated contact list.

There was no standard practice how colleges dealt with this and as we outreached all public colleges and universities we referred to multiple departments who struggled themselves with knowing how to handle these exemption requests.

Financial Aid, Admissions and Bursur offices were used and usually requesting an Application fee waiver was an entirely different process.

12Internal Barriers Classroom style training more difficult, department meetings became quarterly instead of monthly. Web-based training had been established, to reach a broader audience but fee waivers were not included in the training. Staffing, social worker on maternity leave between Dec-April only 1 full-time social workerDISTRICT CHANGES TO TRAINING

SIT SOCIAL WORKER WENT OUT ON MAT LEAVE FROM DEC-APRIL 13Resources District supervisors (Social Work & Guidance Counselors) worked with us to educate staff Homeless advocates, Guidance Counselors and Career Specialists at high school level were highly motivated to assist with outreach Community support was positive Intern was highly motivated and made serving homeless youth primary focus of her data project.What helped?

Student support staff was very open to pitching in to help work with homeless seniors and as we reduced the time we spent with families at risk for homelessness.

From the start I connected with the Supervisor of Guidance Counselors and Career Specialists . She assisted me with accessing her staff to provide training despite the limitations in place and directed her staff to coordinate efforts with me.

Our team already had in place an identified homeless advocate in every school. We use a front-office staff member as a homeless advocate. We identify one in every school within our district. They become our homeless expert and point of contact for students and families.

14What did we do? Examined how time was spent, made adjustments. Ensured every school site had updated resource books for families and unaccompanied homeless youth. Developed a complete contact list and process for all state/county colleges and universities.

TIME MANAGEMENT

I LEARNED UP TO 25% OF MY TIME WAS SPENT WITH FAMILIES WHO WERE AT RISK FOR HOMELESSNESS BUT NOT YET HOMELESS. OUR OFFICE HAD BECOME THE RESOURCE CENTER FOR FAMILIES IN FINANCIAL NEED WHICH WAS LARGELY DUE TO THE LIMITED SOCIAL WORK STAFF WE HAVE IN OUR DISTRICT

SO AS NOT TO LEAVE A GAP I TRAINED SCHOOL HOMELESS ADVOCATES, SOCIAL WORKERS, NURSES AND GUIDANCE STAFF AND PROVIDED RESOURCES

UPDATED CONTACT LIST FOR 76 COLLEGES/UNIVER15What did we do? Outreached every identified homeless senior, there were 71 Provided resource materials to the seniors Utilized guidance counselors, social workers, administrators and front-end staff for outreach. Followed up at least one time.

INITIAL OUTREACH TO HOMELESS SENIORS WAS VIA PHONE. OF THE 71 43 WERE UY. WE FOUND CALLING THE STUDENTS AHEAD OF TIME HELPED THEM FEEL MORE AT EASE WHEN WE MET WITH THEM.

We found calling the students ahead of time helped them to feel more at ease when we requested to meet with them as opposed to showing up and having them called out of class to meet with us without notice.

Every year we update our resource materials . We call every number and update the books before they are printed for the next year. The books I have brought here today are from the 2011-2012 school year.

I sent a fax to the attention of the guidance counselor working with each homeless senior informing them of the fee waiver option and which homeless seniors were identified as unaccompanied and eligible to request independent status on the FAFSA

I then sent a fax to every homeless advocate at all the high schools providing them with the same information. s.16OutcomesWhat did we learn?

Front-end staff were just as key as guidance counselors were to connecting students with resources and higher education.Interestingly enough, I found the homeless advocate was usually the first to discuss this with the student and the one to encourage the student to follow up with us or the guidance counselor. These advocates, who are front-end staff were the gate keepers to these student

Most of our students had three or less contacts with a guidance counselor however they often were checking in weekly or even daily with front-end staff. By educating front-end staff of opportunities available for homeless seniors and having them encourage students to contact us we were able to connect with more students. 17OutcomesWhat did we learn?

After the initial contact with the senior, ongoing communication was more likely if we were willing to text/email the students.We found many of our homeless students used text or email to communicate and did not want to meet or speak but were willing to communicate with us electronically. I found building a rapport through electronic means opened the door to face to face or telephone contact.

Ultimately we assisted 24 of the 71 identified homeless seniors with applying for college/aid.18OutcomesWhat did we learn?

Negotiating the college system can be a confusing and frustrating process. Students were willing/able to advocate for themselves but often did not know how.I was amazed at how difficult it was to reach the right people or to even know who the right people were to reach. Messages I left were not returned as a standard response to my messages. It was challenging to obtain the necessary information.

Students I spoke with felt discouraged, confused and overwhelmed. Overall they needed concrete action steps outlined for them and problem solving when they were turned away or their calls were not returned.19Data projectHow long ago did you lose housing?Reason for losing housing?Who is your primary support person?Most immediate concern?Biggest barrier to college?How confident are you college is an option?

Intern was required to complete a data project as part of her educational program.

Intern outreached every 12th grade unaccompanied, homeless youth.

She called them, sent them a survey through the homeless advocate. Provided self-addressed, postage paid envelope and second envelope with advocates name, offering option to mail to us or send back through advocate.

20Surveyof Homeless SeniorsHow long ago did you lose housing?

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