top banner
supporting the education of children and youth experiencing homelessness
nche home about nche what's new? nche products and resources legislation
information by topic online forum state/local resources best practices disaster planning
information by topic
Migrant Education

NCHE Resources

pdf file icon NCHE Migrant Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness brief (52K)
This brief identifies the key provisions of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act dealing with migrant children and youth experiencing homelessness and offers strategies for implementation.
Other Resources

external webpage icon ESCORT
ESCORT is a national resource center dedicated to improving the educational opportunities for migrant children. ESCORT maintains the National Migrant Education Hotline and conducts professional and program development activities for SEAS, LEAs, and schools to help improve services to migrant children and other English Language Learners. ESCORT also provides technical and logistical support to the U.S. Office of Migrant Education on a wide variety of interstate coordination activities.
Federal Resources for Feeding Homeless Children and Youth
This 2-page brief from the Food Research and Action Center provides a concise and easily-understandable summary of the main points of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 as they pertain to homeless, migrant, and runaway students. Topics include: automatic eligibility for free school Meals, documentation of free meal eligibility, full year school eligibility, federal nutrition funds for shelters serving children and youth, and food stamps and homeless children and youth.
National Association of State Directors of Migrant Education
The National Association of the State Directors of Migrant Education (NASDME) is the professional organization of state officials charged with the responsibility of using migrant education funds effectively and productively to help all migrant children succeed in school. Visit the NASDME website for information about migrant education, related conferences, and publications.
pdf file icon Reducing Paperwork and Connecting Low-Income Children with School Meals
This report, by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, describes a few of the key changes to the school meal eligibility determination process under the reauthorized Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004. It focuses on the changes that provide the greatest opportunity to improve low-income children’s access to free or reduced-price meals and explains how they can be implemented in ways that reduce the administrative burden on states and school districts. A section focusing on homeless, migrant, and runaway students is included.
external webpage icon Reaching Out to Homeless and Migrant Families
This two-part online course, provided by Verizon Literacy Campus (VLC), covers important issues in supporting literacy among homeless and migrant families. Courses are provided free of charge and require only a simple registration process, including choosing a username and password so that VLC can track your progress through each course.
pdf file icon The Culture of Migrancy
This ESCORT brief provides valuable insight into the migrant lifestyle, the challenges migrant families face, and the effects of the migrant lifestyle on children of migrant families.
pdf file iconUSDA memos on the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004
The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-265) expands federal child nutrition programs in several ways to assist homeless, migrant, and runaway children and youth by providing:
  • Automatic eligibility for free school meals
  • Streamlined procedures for documenting eligibility
  • Full school year eligibility for free school meals
  • Federal nutrition funds for shelters that serve children and youth up to age 18
See USDA Memo SP 17-2010 (Jan 29, 2010), which discusses the eligibility of Haitian refugees for USDA child nutrition programs.
See USDA Memo SP3 (Jul 7, 2004), which establishes a household's full school year eligibility for free or reduced price meals.
pdf file icon See USDA Memo SP4 (Jul 19, 2004), which establishes the categorical eligibility of homeless, migrant, and runaway children and youth, and provides instructions for documenting the eligibility of homeless children and youth served under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
pdf file icon See USDA Categorial Eligibility for Free Lunches and Breakfasts for Migrant Children Memo (Aug 16, 2004), which establishes the categorical eligibility of migrant students, provides instructions for documenting migrant students' eligibility, and explains the free meal program's full school year eligibility concept.
pdf file icon See USDA Guidance on Determining Categorical Eligibility for Free Lunches and Breakfasts for Youth Served under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act Memo (Sept 17. 2004), which establishes the categorical eligibility of runaway youth served through grant programs established under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, and provides instructions for documenting the eligibility of youth served under the Act.
Related memo
pdf file icon See Updated Guidance for Homeless Children in the School Nutrition Programs (April 4, 2002), which initially established the guidelines for providing documentation of a student's homeless status for the purpose of receiving free school meals.




To view .pdf files, you must have the Adobe Reader program, available for free downloading at http://www.adobe.com/
*Clicking on an external link will take you to a non-NCHE webpage or document. The external agency's privacy policy may differ from that of NCHE.
NCHE Home | About NCHE | What's New? | NCHE Products and Resources | Legislation
Information by Topic | Online Forum | State/Local Resources | Best Practices | Disaster Planning
Site Map | Search

serve center logouncg logo
The National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE) is associated with The SERVE Center at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.


The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Education, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. This website was produced with funding from the U.S. Department of Education, on contract no. ED-01-CO-0092/0001.
search contact nche site map national center for homeless education the serve center nche logo