McKinney Vento

The McKinney-Vento Program is designed to address the problems that homeless children and youth face in enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school. Under this program, the SCDE must ensure that each homeless child and youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education, as other children and youth. 

Homeless children and youth must have access to the educational and other services that they need to enable them to meet the same challenging State student academic achievement standards to which all students are held. In addition, homeless students may not be separated from the mainstream school environment based solely on the fact that they are experiencing homelessness. 

Every school district is required to have a trained, local homeless education liaison to identify and assist families with enrolling and fully participating in school. You may access the list of South Carolina District McKinney-Vento Liaisons at the following link. 

The Federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act defines children and youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence as homeless. This includes children and youths who: 

• share the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason (sometimes referred to as “doubled up”); 

• live in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations; 

• live in emergency or transitional shelters; 

• are abandoned in hospitals; 

• have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; 

• live in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing (e.g., housing that lacks any one of the fundamental utilities, does not have working a kitchen or plumbing, is overcrowded, or infested), bus or train stations, or similar settings; and 

• Migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are living in the circumstances described above. 

• Unaccompanied youth who qualify as homeless because they are living in the circumstances described above. 

Students whose living situations meet this definition have educational rights and are eligible to receive services under the McKinney-Vento Act. 

McKinney-Vento rights are federal protections ensuring children and youth experiencing homelessness—including those doubled-up, in shelters, or in motels—have immediate access to a free, public education

. These rights include immediate school enrollment without typical documents, transportation to the school of origin, and access to educational services comparable to housed peers. 

Key components of these rights include:

• Immediate Enrollment: Students can enroll immediately even if they lack required documents like birth certificates, proof of residency, or immunization records.
• School Stability: Students have the right to remain in their "school of origin" (the school they attended when stably housed) to minimize disruption, or enroll in a school serving the area where they are currently staying.
• Transportation: Schools must provide transportation to and from the school of origin.
• Services and Support: Eligible students receive free meals, tutoring, and other services comparable to those offered to non-homeless students.
• Unaccompanied Youth: Rights extend to youth not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian.
• Dispute Resolution: If a dispute arises over eligibility or school placement, students have the right to attend school immediately while the dispute is being resolved. 

These rights apply to children and youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. 

McKinney-Vento Identification Form

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owwwztok2pQ

Scholarship Overview

The SC DSS Homeless Initiative Child Care Scholarship helps eligible families experiencing homelessness offset child care costs. The scholarship can be used for children from birth through age 12.

If a family has school-aged children, they must obtain this verification from the McKinney-Vento Liaison. Please complete a verification form for each eligible child in the household who needs child care. A younger sibling does not need to be enrolled in school to be verified for the scholarship program.

Families who have been determined eligible under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act should apply for the scholarship through the SC DSS Benefits Portal (benefitsportal.dss.sc.gov):

●     Select 'Yes' when asked if they are currently experiencing homelessness.

●       Upload the completed McKinney-Vento Verification Form(s) in the document upload section.

The completed verification form serves as documentation of the family's McKinney-Vento eligibility for the scholarship program.

Who Should Complete This Form

The McKinney-Vento Verification Form must be completed by the district's McKinney-Vento Liaison or a member of the McKinney-Vento team.

Signature: The parent, guardian, or youth must sign the form to confirm the details are correct.

Before Providing the Form to the Family

Before returning the form to the family, please ensure:

●       All fields are complete and legible

●       All relevant living situations are selected

●       Liaison contact information is included

For more information about the DSS Child Care Scholarship Program:

https://www.scchildcare.org/programs/child-care-scholarship-program/

(800) 476-0199

scchildcare@dss.sc.gov