Foster & Homeless Youth
MCKINNEY-VENTO and FOSTER YOUTH PROGRAMS
These programs are part of the Student & Community Services Department in the Selma Unified School District. The programs identify students who lack a permanent residence (McKinney-Vento) or have been removed from their homes due to abuse and/or neglect (Foster) Our goal, and the goal of the McKinney-Vento Act is to eliminate barriers to enrollment, attendance, and success in school.
Definition of Homelessness
Any child or youth without a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence is considered homeless under the law. This includes students who are
Living with a friend, relative or someone else because they have lost their home or their family is having temporary financial problems, which is called “doubled-up/tripled up”
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Staying in a motel, hotel, trailer park, or campground because they have nowhere else to go
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Living in a shelter, including emergency or transitional shelters, domestic violence shelters, and runaway and homeless youth shelters
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Staying in substandard housing
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Living in places not ordinarily used for sleeping, including cars, parks, public places, abandoned buildings, or bus or train stations
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Awaiting foster care placement
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Abandoned in a hospital
These students are identified by staff, and are afforded certain rights in order to assist them succeed in school. The goal of these programs is to offer homeless and foster students the same educational rights and opportunities as other students.
Various services are provided to Homeless and Foster students:
The right to stay at the same school for the duration of homelessness or foster status.
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Immediate enrollment in school.
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Automatic eligibility for the free and reduced meal program.
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McKinney-Vento students also receive school bus transportation to and from their school of origin even if they move out of the area during the school year.
These students often move or change foster care placements more than once during a school year. The main goals of the McKinney-Vento and Foster Youth Programs are to provide educational stability, equal access to public education, and academic success to these two populations of students within the Selma Unified School District.
Foster Youth Resources
Education