HELENA — Montana schools are doing a better job of identifying homeless students and getting them the support and services they need, state education officials said Monday.
Schools across the state are now better focused in identifying homeless children because of a better understanding of how homelessness is defined by state and federal guidelines, Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau said.
“That can run anywhere from not being able to find a place to sleep, to sleeping in cars, to living in hotel rooms to even couch surfing,” Juneau said.
Most homeless children and families in Montana live with friends or relatives, Juneau said. Federal guidelines define this type of homelessness as “doubling up” when tight quarters are being shared because of financial hardship.
Identifying homeless students is crucial, Juneau said, in connecting homeless families with the resources to address their housing situation.
Five years ago, just 40 of the state’s school districts identified a homeless child in their classrooms. That translated to 1,487 homeless students during the 2010-2011 school year, according to statistics compiled by the Office of Public Instruction.
Last year, 105 school districts reported a combined tally of 3,075 homeless students.
Juneau’s office provides nearly $150,000 in grants to schools, as part of the Education for Homeless and Youth Program, a federal effort to ensure that all children have access to public education.
School districts in Billings, Bozeman, Browning, Great Falls, Helena, Kalispell, Missoula and Sidney currently receive funding from the program.
Homelessness is usually considered a mostly urban problem. Because of that, advocates say, the rural homeless remain largely invisible.
According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, about 7 percent of the country’s homeless live in rural areas.
“Children in rural areas are among the most hidden homeless children,” according to a 2014 report by the American Institutes for Research, noting that the rural homeless risk being undercounted. Across the country, 2.5 million children are homeless annually, according to the agency.
Schools are often at the frontline of some of the country’s social issues, including poverty and homelessness. Students who experience periods of homelessness face a variety of academic challenges, school officials said.
“Providing a quality education is what a school’s job is, and to make sure every student gets a quality education, no matter what their living situation,” Juneau said.