January 8, 2025 (Lynnwood, Wash.) – TransAct, a leader in operational and compliance software for the education sector, today announced the Accelerating Impact Grant for At-Risk Student Support, a groundbreaking initiative designed to assist school districts in addressing the needs of McKinney-Vento eligible and other at-risk student populations. Through this program, three selected school districts will receive a three-year grant, providing Student Support Tracker software and comprehensive support at no cost.

Data from our latest Nationwide McKinney-Vento Study found that liaisons face challenges related to tracking information and communicating with referral providers. These challenges have become more urgent as a result of the recent increase in students identified as McKinney-Vento eligible and the fact that stimulus funds are drawing down. Almost all who responded said there is still more to be done for students experiencing homelessness. 

It can be overwhelming for a homeless liaison to manage their workload without knowing which students are eligible for McKinney-Vento support.

The COVID-19 pandemic added to the challenges that homeless liaisons face on a daily basis. With students attending school irregularly, it became incrementally more difficult to provide them with the necessary services for which they were eligible.

In the webinar “Making a Positive Impact on McKinney-Vento Qualified Students” presented on May 4, TransACT's Phillip Smith was joined by Debbie DiAnni, McKinney-Vento Liaison for the School City of Hammond, and Heidi Reang, District Homeless Liaison with Oregon’s Tigard-Tualatin School District. Together they discussed practical approaches to meeting common challenges associated with tracking McKinney-Vento students and how they've successfully leveraged technology to overcome these challenges. 

When the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law on December 10, 2015, it included changes to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. One of those changes required every School District to appoint a District Homeless Liaison.  

The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) resulted in significant changes for requirements related to students in foster care in both the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and Title I of the ESEA/ESSA.  

Making the Grade for Students Experiencing Homelessness

We all share the same mission, to provide the best services we can and help students succeed. It is easy to get swept away in the day-to-day of running a district, or Coordinating Title I, Title III, and McKinney-Vento programming or becoming caught up in an overwhelming amount of data without knowing where you can make a further positive impact. 

There are many challenges to working with students experiencing homelessness, particularly when it comes to the complex reporting requirements that, for example, vary between federal grants like the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act grants and ESSA Title I homeless student services.