[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 150 (Wednesday, September 25, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6419-S6420]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUPPORTING HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTH
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, on March 6, 2021, almost a year to
the day after communities across America--and Alaska--shut down in an
attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19, this body was voting on the
third COVID relief bill, the American Rescue Plan.
Unfortunately, this was a wholly partisan exercise. Rather than
advancing a bipartisan consensus effort, one side unilaterally pushed
forward the largest spending package Congress had ever advanced, which
I was not able to support. However, in the midst of that bogged down,
partisan exercise, there was a bright spot of cross-aisle collaboration
that brought together Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. In
fact, it was one of only three amendments that passed with unanimous
support during a contentious process where over 40 votes were taken.
I am speaking of my amendment with Senators Manchin, Portman, Sinema,
Collins, and Sullivan to designate $800 million of the K12 education
funds in the bill to be used for identifying, supporting, and educating
children and youth experiencing homelessness.
I offered this amendment because the first two COVID relief packages
did not include any dedicated funding to support this vulnerable
population, who were arguably the most negatively impacted by school
closures.
At that time, 2,578 Alaskan children and youth were identified as
experiencing homelessness. That number grew to 3,554 in the next school
year. Unfortunately, we are on pace to break records this school year.
Homelessness has far-reaching impacts on young people, affecting both
their personal development and education. Living without a stable home
means increased stress, insecurity, and trauma, leading to mental
health challenges such as anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.
The tolls of their living situation also affects their physical
health, increasing the risk of illness, obesity, diabetes, and hunger.
Many youth struggle with regular sleep without a consistent place to
rest their head. And many turn to substance abuse to cope with
hardships.
For youth in school, homelessness often results in frequent school
absences, difficulty concentrating, and lower academic achievement, as
the instability of their living conditions makes it hard to focus on
learning. The likelihood of dropping out of school rises dramatically,
and so does the risk of being involved in the juvenile justice system.
Homeless youth may lack access to essential resources like school
supplies, quiet study spaces, and nutritious meals, further widening
the achievement gap.
Now I am probably not breaking any news to those of us in Congress,
who have heard too many stories of young people enduring these
incredibly trying conditions.
But I am here today to share some incredible news on this front from
the bipartisan work done on this floor to help our youths in crisis.
In my home State of Alaska, we received $2.35 million in these funds,
more than eight times its usual allocation.
To see the impact that these funds have had makes my heart sing. What
was really incredible was seeing how each district used these funds
creatively to meet the unique and specific needs of the kids they
serve. By providing districts flexibility in their spending, schools
were able to provide everything from school supplies to cell phones to
clothing and food.
In the Kenai Peninsula School District, they used funds to help a
student access mental health services. This particular student had
experienced homelessness and housing instability for the majority of
their time in public education. After falling off the radar of the
school, the student became an unaccompanied homeless youth due to
parental substance use disorder and incarceration.
These homeless youth funds were a lifeline in providing critical
mental health services to support this student, giving them tools for
coping, and helped place them on a path to sustained stability at a
time when they were experiencing incredible uncertainty and didn't have
someone in their life to help guide them.
In Anchorage, the school district used these funds to provide Wi-Fi
hot spots, since the subsidized broadband internet was no longer
available.
These funds enabled the purchase of 15 Wi-Fi hot spots for families
last school year and 10 more for this year. You can imagine that for
families and youth who are moving from place to place--motels, cars,
couches--access to reliable internet to complete homework and
communicate with teachers is a particular challenge. No other district
program is able to support homeless students this way. ASD's Migrant
Education, Indigenous Education, and English Language Learners
departments see this as a big need but one they cannot address.
In addition to hotspots, Anchorage School District's program was able
to provide car repairs. Now, that might seem like a strange way to help
those experiencing homelessness, but districts discovered that car
repairs made more economic sense than providing
[[Page S6420]]
cab services for young people trying to attend classes. By providing
$200 on car repair costs, the district ultimately saved money on
transportation, and families had more reliable car services.
Both districts also used funding to bring on additional staff
designated to work with homeless students. The Child in Transition
Program in the Anchorage School District was able to hire two full-time
staff for remote sites and five part-time staff in high schools to
support students on campus and connect them to services. These staffers
are connecting students and families with identification efforts,
checking in on attendance and grades, monitoring and supporting
academic progress, and facilitating referrals with community partners.
In fact, one of these staffers was able to build rapport with a
student experiencing homelessness who was interested in applying for a
job, but didn't know how to start the process. By having a dedicated
staff member, who they knew and trusted, the support and resources were
there for this student to apply for the position and prepare for their
interview. Today, that young person is employed.
These real-life examples highlight what this funding is actually
doing on the ground and the incredible, real world benefits it has in
the lives of youth and families experiencing homelessness.
We know that the No. 1 risk factor for adult homelessness is the lack
of a high school education or equivalent.
The challenges and hardships that youth experiencing homelessness
face can set them on the wrong path, severely limiting future
opportunities for employment and healthy lifestyles.
These funds are still directly supporting students so they can attend
school and have the resources to successfully complete their education.
This funding is helping young people get out of the homelessness
cycle permanently.
I am proud to stand here with my colleagues to share the impact of
this American Rescue Plan provision.
I was disappointed that we were not able to get a clean 1-year
extension done so that we can continue to hear good stories of the work
being done in our communities to identify and support homeless youth.
There were a number of reasons that States and local education
agencies were not able to fully spend down their funds--from local
education agencies not even being aware of the additional flexible
funds, to delayed guidelines from the Department of Education on
allowable uses.
So without an extension, some States will be returning funds. And
make no mistake: These are funds that are still critically needed in
our communities. The youth experiencing homelessness in our States
still need our support, and we expect to see continued increases in
homeless youth.
To be clear, there is more work to be done with homelessness on the
rise. I urge my colleagues to work with us to address these issues.
____________________