1810-new_Appendix A SEA Survey Instrument--feedback to ED 3-17

introduction

This survey, States and Local Implementation Studies of the American Rescue Plan funds for Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY), is part of an evaluation of ARP-HCY grant funding administered through the Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program of the U.S. Department of Education (ED). ED would like to understand implementation of ARP-HCY funds among all receiving state educational agencies (SEA) and a sample of local educational agencies (LEAs).

The purpose of this survey is to collect information on implementation of ARP-HCY funding in your state. The survey will ask about the collection and use of data on children and youth experiencing homelessness, the barriers facing children and youth experiencing homelessness, and efforts to address those barriers. The findings will provide useful information on the program to ED, Congress, and practitioners.

As a recipient of an ARP-HCY program grant, your participation in the survey is requested by the U.S. Department of Education on whose behalf we are administering this survey. Responses to this survey are voluntary and will be used for statistical purposes only and in no way tie to ED’s monitoring reviews of state programs. The reports prepared for this study will summarize findings across the sample and will not associate responses with a specific state, district, or individual. The evaluator will not provide information that identifies a student, LEA, or state to anyone outside the study team except as required by law. Every effort will be made to maintain confidentiality of the information collected.

We estimate that this survey will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. You may fill out the survey all at once or over multiple sessions. If you fill out the survey over multiple sessions, please use the link provided to you in the email from [email protected] to continue the survey. You will automatically go to the last page of the survey where you left off.

Public Burden Statement

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number.  The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 18xx-xxxx.  Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 30 minutes per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.  The obligation to respond to this collection is voluntary.  If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate, suggestions for improving this individual collection, or if you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual form, application or survey, please contact John McLaughlin at [email protected] directly.

Capacity Building

ARP-HCY allows SEAs to set aside up to 25 percent of the funds to state operations, with the remainder made available to LEAs. For the questions that follow, explain which set asides are funded by ARP Homeless I or Homeless II funds. If your SEA is not tracking the ARP Homeless I and II set-asides separately, check the box below and provide the total amount.

 Our SEA does not track Homeless I and Homeless II set asides separately.

[if box checked, display table below with one column labeled “total” ]

Question	ARP Homeless I	ARP Homeless II
1. What amount did your SEA reserve for its state set-aside?
2. Approximately how many additional SEA staff (including contracted consultants) have been hired to work in SEA headquarters or regional offices (expressed in full-time equivalent – FTE from each set-aside)? Examples of 1.0 FTE (full-time equivalent) are the addition of a 40-hour-a-week staff person or the addition of two part-time staff who each work 20 hours a week. Examples of 0.50 FTE are the addition of two part-time staff, each working 10 hours a week, or a full-time staff who splits their time 50 percent for ARP-HCY activities and 50 percent for other activities.	________._____	________._____
3. How much of your SEA set-aside has been made as direct grants or contracts to community-based organizations (CBOs) (defined here as a non-profit national, state, or local organization and not a state or local public agency)?	$________	$________
4. How much of your SEA set-aside has been made as a grant or contract to another program office in the SEA?	$________	$________
5. How much of your SEA set-aside has been made as grants or contracts to other state or local governmental agencies?	$________	$________
6. How much of your SEA set-aside has been made as grants to LEAs?	$________	$________

[ask Q7 if Q2 is greater than zero; otherwise skip to Q9]

7. Which of the following capacities have been expanded using the additional SEA staff or staff time (including contracted consultants)?

Capacity	(Check all that apply)
a. Providing training and technical assistance to assist in identifying children and youth experiencing homelessness	☐
b. Providing training and technical assistance to LEAs not eligible for Homeless I funding to prepare them for Homeless II funding opportunities	☐
c. Other general training and technical assistance support	☐
d. Grant management and oversight, including monitoring	☐
e. Analysis of LEA and SEA level data	☐
f. Participating in state or regional meetings with other agencies or participating in professional development	☐
g. Capacity building among LEAs	☐
h. Other 1 (Please specify.)	☐
i. Other 2 (Please specify.)	☐

8. Since receiving ARP-HCY funds, rank the order of the additional time spent on each activity you selected in Q7 by dragging the most time-consuming activity to the top with the others following in order.

a. Providing training and technical assistance to assist in identifying children and youth experiencing homelessness
b. Providing training and technical assistance to LEAs not eligible for Homeless I funding to prepare them for Homeless II funding opportunities
c. Other general training and technical assistance support
d. Grant management and oversight, including monitoring
e. Analysis of LEA- and SEA-level data
f. Participating in state or regional meetings with other agencies or participating in professional development
g. Capacity building among LEAs
h. Other 1 [System will display text from other1 in Q7]
i. Other 2 [System will display text from other2 in Q7]

9. Have you used ARP-HCY funding to increase the capacity of your SEA, or LEAs in your state, to identify and serve children and youth experiencing homelessness with any of the following activities?

	(Check all that apply)
a. Increase SEA program staff participation on advisory boards, coalitions, and/or councils	☐
b. Convene agencies and providers or create communities of practice that focus on issues related to children and youth experiencing homelessness	☐
c. Explore models for providing wraparound services on-site at schools (e.g., Full-Service Community Schools model, Families Plus Wraparound Program, or the Safe At Home wraparound service model aligned with the National Wraparound Initiative)	☐
d. Conduct awareness campaigns to familiarize families and organizations with educational and other services available to children and youth experiencing homelessness
e. Encourage LEAs to partner with CBOs by providing extra points in the scoring rubric for subgrant applications that specifically include CBO partnerships	☐
f. Develop statewide resource directories or online portals to enable LEAs to access information on resources for children and families experiencing homelessness	☐
g. Hire community navigators in the SEA to develop partnerships with agencies and CBOs and to help LEAs connect with organizations to provide wraparound services for children and youth experiencing homelessness	☐
h. Share community needs assessments with CBOs	☐
i. Other activities to expand capacity using ARP-HCY funding (Describe in the space provided.)	☐

9a. If you picked more than one from the list above, which activity do you think was most effective or innovative and why?

Community-Based Organizations

10. Did your SEA expand any of the following activities related to CBOs using ARP-HCY funding? Check all that apply.

	(Check all that apply)
a. Directly contract with CBOs to help LEAs find and access wraparound services (such as academic supports, trauma-informed care, social-emotional support, or mental health services)	☐
b. Create CBO resource lists for LEAs (providing a directory of CBOs and the services they provide)	☐
c. Form communities of practice allowing staff of all agencies to meet and discover the best ways to identify or serve children and youth experiencing homelessness	☐
d. Provide training or technical assistance on the following topics:
i. The formation of collaborative partnerships between LEAs and CBOs	☐
ii. Best practices for working as collaborative partners with CBOs	☐
iii. Templates for LEAs to contract with CBOs	☐
e. Methods to identify children and youth experiencing homelessness in different living arrangements (e.g., doubled up, living in a hotel/motel, sheltered or unsheltered)	☐
f. Provide other support to school districts or intermediate LEAs. (Please explain.)	☐

[if checked the box on any option in q10]

11. In the space provided below, please provide the actual names of the three CBOs that you collaborate or interact with most often.

Names of your three most frequent collaborative CBO partners

12. Which of the following types of CBOs do you actively collaborate with to help identify and/or serve children and youth experiencing homelessness? Check all that apply.

☐ Counseling services or other mental health care

☐ CBOs providing medical or dental care

☐ Faith-based organizations (e.g., houses of worship, churches, mosques, synagogues, etc.)

☐ CBOs providing translation services

☐ CBOs serving English language learners

☐ CBOs serving rural children and youth

☐ CBOs serving students of color

☐ CBOs serving students identifying as LGBTQ+

☐ CBOs serving students who are pregnant, parenting, or caregiving

☐ CBOs serving children and youth with disabilities

☐ Other CBOs meeting the needs of families and youth experiencing homelessness

Identifying Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness

13. Have you contracted or collaborated with CBOs to increase the capacity of your school districts to identify children and youth experiencing homelessness in the following nighttime residence situations? Select all that apply.

☐ Doubled up

☐ Living in a hotel/motel

☐ Sheltered

☐ Unsheltered

☐ None of the above

14. Which of the following data sources, if any, does your state use to identify and address the needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness? Select one response for each row.

Data sources	Yes	No
LEA-level data collected by the SEA	☐	☐
U.S. Census Bureau	☐	☐
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) such as the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS reports) also on hudexchange.info by Continuum of Care	☐	☐
Veterans Administration programs that support homeless veterans and their families	☐	☐
Other offices within the SEA (e.g., Title I, Part A, special education, assessment)	☐	☐
Tribal governments or agencies	☐	☐
Head Start program (including Early Head Start and Tribal Head Start)	☐	☐
State or local health or human service agency	☐	☐
Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) funded programs	☐	☐
Other homeless shelters, homeless advocacy organizations, etc.	☐	☐
Attend state or national conferences/network with organizations that address at-risk populations (e.g., NAEHCY, SchoolHouse Connection, ESEA State Program Administrators (NAESPA), Special Education (NASDSE), Migrant Education (NASDME), or Alternative Education (NAEA)) ,)	☐	☐
Other organizations or agencies (Specify in the space below.)
15.A&B.) Did the state provide technical assistance (e.g., one-on-one assistance, training, information) to any ARP-HCY subgrantee and/or non-grantee LEAs on any of the following topics? (Select all that apply for ARP-HCY subgrant districts and all that apply for non-subgrantee districts
16.) On which of the following technical assistance topics could the state use more guidance or resources from the U.S. Department of Education? Select all that apply.

Topics for assistance provided by the state	A.) Provided assistance to ARP-HCY subgrantee districts on the following topics: (Select all that apply.)	B.) Provided assistance to ARP-HCY non-grantee districts on the following topics: (Select all that apply.)	16.) Your state needs more guidance or resources on this topic (Select all that apply.)
Understanding the legal responsibilities of the liaison for homelessness issues	o	o	o
Informing school personnel about the McKinney-Vento and ARP-HCY laws and their requirements	o	o	o
Informing families and students about the McKinney-Vento and ARP-HCY laws and their rights under the law	o	o	o
Identifying children and youth experiencing homelessness	o	o	o
Collecting, using, and reporting data about children and youth experiencing homelessness	o	o	o
Addressing barriers related to school enrollment and school placement (e.g., residency requirements, immunization requirements)	o	o	o
Addressing barriers related to school attendance (e.g., poor health, lack of adequate clothing and school supplies)	o	o	o
Addressing barriers related to school success (e.g., frequent mobility, lack of appropriate study area to complete homework, lack of internet, books)	o	o	o
Addressing barriers related to transportation within the district	o	o	o
Addressing barriers related to transportation across district boundaries	o	o	o
Coordinating with Title I programs (e.g., cross-program collaborations on state and local plans for both ARP-HCY and Title I, cross-program trainings and materials)	o	o	o
Developing additional learning opportunities delivered as part of the school day (e.g., college tours, career and technical education internships, or other field trips))	o	o	o
Coordinating with external education service providers (e.g., after-school providers, supplemental tutoring services)	o	o	o
Accessing social services and/or counseling support to support children and youths experiencing homelessness	o	o	o
Enhancing family engagement	o	o	o
Other (Please specify.) ____________________	o	o	o

COVID Pandemic and Other Large-Scale Disruptions

17. Beginning with the 2019-2020 school year , to what extent have the following large-scale events in your state increased the number of children and youth needing services addressed by ARP-HCY?

	No Increase	Some Increase	Significant Increase
Weather events (e.g., flooding, hurricanes, tornados)	☐	☐	☐
Wildfires and other nonweather-related disasters	☐	☐	☐
Population events (e.g., influx of evacuees, refugees, asylum seekers)	☐	☐	☐
Closure of local employers in the service industry (e.g., hotel, restaurant, entertainment venues)	☐	☐	☐
Closure of other large local employers/industries	☐	☐	☐
Other economic pressures (e.g., a sudden decrease in affordable housing) (Please specify.) ________________________	☐	☐	☐
Other factors (Please specify.)__________

18. What remaining pandemic recovery needs does your SEA have with respect to assisting LEAs to identify children and youth experiencing homelessness?

19. What remaining pandemic recovery needs do LEAs have with respect to identifying children and youth experiencing homelessness?

Thank you for participating in this survey. The results will help the Department of Education better understand how this funding has assisted children and youth experiencing homelessness to pursue their education.

Please provide the best contact information where we can reach you if we have any clarification questions.

Email Address:

Phone Number:

If you have any questions or comments about this survey, please contact the 2M Research survey team at 1-800-xxx-xxxx or at [email protected].