Supporting the College Readiness of Youth Experiencing Homelessness

• In Event: 64.038 - AERA Division E Small Grant Winners: Emerging Leaders in Counseling and Human Development

Abstract

Over 323,000 high school students were identified as homeless during the 2014/15 school year (National Center for Homeless Education [NCHE], 2016), with more than 32,000 high school students identifying themselves as homeless and unaccompanied on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) (NCHE, n.d.). With high numbers homeless students capable of attending college, recent updates to the federal legislation that addresses the educational barriers faced by homeless students (i.e. McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act), now specifically state that school counselors and local homeless liaisons (i.e. individuals who are assigned to schools in order to ensure McKinney-Vento policies are effective) must tailor their college preparation interventions to meet the unique needs of students experiencing homelessness (United States Department of Education, 2016). Despite the importance of their roles and requirements under the law, there is limited research about how these important stakeholders work with homeless students in this capacity, with no research investigating how they are addressing the new McKinney-Vento college readiness requirements.

This study, therefore, brings to light how critical school personnel are supporting students experiencing homelessness in their college preparation by addressing the following research questions: (1) What are the observations, challenges, and needs of school counselors and local liaisons supporting homeless students in their college preparation? (2) How are school counselors and local liaisons providing support for homeless youth? and (3) How are states proposing they are meeting the new college preparation requirements in their state plans? With no research available on how school counselors and liaisons are supporting the college preparation of homeless students, this study fills the gap in knowledge and will lead to outcomes-based research investigating the effectiveness of specific programming and trainings for supporting homeless students’ college preparation needs.

Author

• Stacey Havlik, Villanova University