have also expressed an interest in piloting the use of the screener. Our goal is to have a consistent approach statewide on housing screeners, where every student is screened using the same form. SHARING KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE Statewide Legal and Policy Experts on Homelessness. Appleseed is a state and national thought leader on child and family homelessness. During 2021, we also became experts on federal and state relief funds and the eviction and utility moratoriums. We shared our expertise with partners and communities around the state so they can better identify and serve families experiencing homelessness: · Provided media outlets background information for multiple in-depth stories covering different aspects of homelessness and evictions. · Trained over twenty early childhood intervention social workers on federal education laws that address homelessness, provided resources and presented to hundreds of attendees. · Provided technical assistance to dozens of liaisons, state leadership, and school staff on issues including confusion over who qualifies as homeless, emergency housing options for unaccompanied youth in rural communities, and how to access eviction prevention funds. · Provided substantive feedback and analysis to the Program Coordinator of Community Schools and Extended Learning at PED on a study they are
Appleseed's Work Ahead EXPAND to cover more rural areas of New Mexico, helping to create additional summer and after school meals locations. As federal safety net programs are set to expire in 2022, our team will be leading the charge to expand school meal programs, boost EBT, spearhead national legislation that could bring free school meals to all Native American students around the country and ensure our former legislation stays intact and becomes more robust to help more children eat as we work to end hunger in New Mexico. SUPPORT 50 plus districts and charters that are currently identifying zero students to improve identification and build a more robust McKinney-Vento program. 8
launching in partnership with J-PAL at MIT and will be providing support throughout the duration of the study. · Presented to the NMSU economic development cabinet about how the university can improve outcomes for its high poverty families and students. · Presented at the Harvard Kennedy Government Performance Lab meeting on cash transfers. · Provided support to the Governors task force on fiscal and policy implications of free meals for all children. ADDRESSING BARRIERS THROUGH LEGISLATION AND POLICY Ensure Free Access to Birth Certificates for Homeless Youth. Through Appleseed’s role on the statewide Education for Homeless Children and Youth Advisory Committee, we worked to develop and advocate for the passage of HB 179, a law to ensure that youth experiencing homelessness can access copies of their birth certificates and that the $10 statutory fee is waived for all individuals experiencing homelessness. Improve Access to Youth IDs. Through the Education for Homeless Children and Youth Advisory Committee, we worked with the Taxation and Revenue Department (TRD) to clarify that unaccompanied youth can apply on their own for an identification card without a parent or guardian's signature and successfully advocated with TRD to train field office staff on the rights of unaccompanied youth to access IDs.
IMPLEMENT a universal housing screener in school districts around the state to develop a more comprehensive data set of how many students are experiencing homelessness. SUPPORT state and local partners with expertise and technical assistance on homelessness. PUBLISH Appleseed’s work on cash transfers. LAUNCH a new community of practice for the 53 LEAs receiving Education for Homeless Children and Youth funds. LAUNCH into the design phase of the Supporting Early Childhood Success and collaborate with potential funders on the pilot.
