Fredericksburg Parent

18 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • March 2025 This is Part II of Adele's special report on homelessness in public schools. In Part I, published Thursday afternoon, readers met local McKinney-Vento liaisons, and learned of the harsh realities that home- less children face. Today, Adele explores funding and the challenges associated with it, as well as the community support so critical to filling gaps. Stafford and Spotsylvania receive funding for eligible students through the McKinney-Vento subgrant program, which is funneled through Project Hope, the state liaison. School divisions apply for the competitive subgrants to support their programs for homeless youth. Programs are approved for a three-year period, but funds are allocated on an annual basis, "contingent upon per- formance, evaluation, and continued funding at the federal level," accord- ing to a 2023 memo from Jillian Balow, then the state superintendent of public instruction, introducing the new grant cycle. Approximately $2 million in federal funding was available for Virginia schools for the 2023-24 school year, according to the memo, "allow- ing subgrant awards for 30 to 35 proposals ranging from $15,000 to $150,000 per year." There are 132 school divisions in Virginia. Balow's memo encourages "multi-divisional/regional proposals." Photo by Charlein Gracia on Unsplash WRITTEN BY ADELE UPHAUS According to the memo, there are 16 allowable uses of McKinney-Vento funds, including tutoring, expedited student evaluations, professional development, referrals for health and social services, transportation, mentoring and summer programs, fees associated with obtaining and transferring student records, coordination between agen- cies, school supplies, and "extraordinary or emergency assistance to enable homeless children to attend school and participate fully." Housing assistance, however, is not one of the allowable uses. In Stafford, the amount received through the subgrant only pays for Stafford County Public Schools' McKinney-Vento liaison Cynthia Lucero-Chavez's salary. In Spotsylvania, the subgrant pays for part-time staff, transportation support, professional development, materials and supplies, and other student supports. Schools can also set aside funds received through Title I of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act to provide services to homeless children and youth. This is the only source of funding Fredericksburg schools currently has for McKinney-Vento students. "As a social work team, we try to just do our best to connect folks with resources," Jennifer Bunn, the McKinney Vento Liaison for Fredericksburg City Schools, said. Those Who Work with Them: Part 2 Funding for schools working to support homeless children is limited and comes with some surprising restrictions

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