Aligning Out-of-School Time Services for Children Experiencing Homelessness

The National Center on Afterschool and Summer Enrichment (NCASE) is pleased to share a practice brief on Aligning Out-of-School Time Services for Children Experiencing Homelessness. This brief is the fifth in a periodic series published by NCASE to build awareness of promising practices in the field of school-age child care.

The definitions of homeless children and youth used by the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) and the Department of Education have become aligned, providing better opportunities for collaboration between Lead Agencies and state departments of education and child care providers. This is especially true for public schools and providers serving school-age children.

The examples discussed in the brief show that out-of-school time programs are well positioned to provide supportive environments for youth experiencing homelessness as well as their families. State and local agencies, school districts, and programs need to consider the expanded definition of homelessness and employ innovative ways to identify these families. Following this definition increases the likelihood that families with school-age children will benefit from the stable, caring services of OST programs.

Publisher
Office of Child Care (OCC)
Author
National Center on Afterschool and Summer Enrichment
Resource Type
Issue brief
Length
6 pages
Publication Date
Archive Status
Unarchived