Community & Family Connections
Do you know of a student experiencing housing instability? Fill out our online referral form or call the intake line at 303-982-1144.
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act ensures educational stability for children and youth experiencing housing instability.
Students who lack fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence qualify for additional support and resources. Unaccompanied youth are students not in the physical custody of a parent or legal guardian.
Jeffco Public Schools’ team of six community and family connections liaisons work to identify and verify eligibility. The liaisons are also trained to assist with Medicaid or CHP+ enrollment.
We believe educational advocacy, staff awareness and community partnerships all can improve outcomes for students.
Articulation Areas
Indicators of Homeless and Unaccompanied Youth
Common indicators of student housing instability include:
- Sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing, economic hardship or similar reason.
- Living in motels or hotels.
- Living in RVs, inadequate trailer parks or camping grounds due to lack of adequate alternative accommodations.
- Living in emergency shelters or transitional housing programs.
- Abandonment in hospitals.
- Living in a public or private place not designed for humans to live.
- Living in cars, parks, abandoned buildings, or bus or train stations.
- Living in any of these situations and fleeing an abusive situation, even if the parent would provide support and a place to live.
- Migratory children living in the aforementioned circumstances.
- Unaccompanied youth not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian.
Supports and Services
Students who are McKinney-Vento eligible receive supports, which may include:
- Immediate enrollment without proof of residency, immunizations, school records or other documents.
- Transportation to the school.
- Enrollment in a free lunch program and other school resources.
- Identification and removal of barriers that prevent them from receiving appropriate credit for full or partial coursework satisfactorily completed while attending a prior school, including barriers due to fees, fines or absences.
- Assistance from counselors to prepare for and improve readiness for college.
- Privacy protections under FERPA about a McKinney-Vento student's living situation.
- School stability, which applies when students lose housing during the year or during the summer.
School of origin is the school attended when permanently housed or school in which one last enrolled. Once determined as in a homeless situation, the student shall be permitted to continue in the school of origin for the duration of homelessness, and until the end of the academic year in which the student becomes permanently housed, or enroll in any public school that is within the attendance area where the student is residing.
Resources
Community and Family Connections, formerly Homeless Services, provides comprehensive support to students experiencing homelessness enrolled in Jefferson County Public Schools through identification and assessment of individual needs.
Download Jeffco Community Resources
Disclosures: The Resources section represents an array of government agencies, nonprofits, faith-based entities and other organizations that are not part of Jeffco Schools. They were gathered as a convenience for community members.
- The district does not recommend, endorse, guarantee or favor any organization over any other.
- Users are advised to conduct their own research on each resource.
- Other resources and organizations may exist in addition to those listed on this page. This is not an exhaustive or exclusive list.
- Services offered by the listed organizations, links to their website, and information about the organizations may change over time.
Contact Us
Community and Family Connections
Phone: 303-982-1144