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McKinney Vento

Homeless Assistance Act

If you become homeless, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act provides special services for your child to address the special needs he or she may have while displaced. The McKinney-Vento Act defines "homeless children and youth" as individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. This includes those who are sharing housing with others (doubled up with a friend or relative), living in motels or campgrounds, living in emergency shelters, as well as those having no address because they are living in a car, public space or abandoned building.

The term includes children and youth who are: 

  • Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, fleeing an abuser, or a similar reason (sometimes referred to as doubled-up)
  • Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, bus or train station, or camping ground due to lack of alternative adequate accommodation.
  • Living in emergency or transitional shelters, abandoned in hospitals, or similar settings.

McKinney-Vento provides transportation from the temporary residence to school and back, school uniforms and basic school supplies, tutors and tools for school. View a brochure with more details on the law and how you may access services.

McKinney-Vento requires schools to enroll students (both accompanied and unaccompanied) experiencing homelessness (due to the above terms) immediately, even if the student is unable to provide documents that are typically required for enrollment, such as previous academic records, records of immunization and other required health records, proof of residency, or other documentation 42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(3)(C). 

For more information, please contact Shynea Paris, District Liaison to Students in Transition, at 203-346-3511 (ext. 4058) or via email.  

You may also contact your school's Parent Liaison for more information on how to access these services.

State of Connecticut McKinney Vento Information  McKinney Vento Questionnaire  McKinney Vento Referral Form

To Learn More about McKinney-Vento: