402 Tacoma Avenue S., Suite 200 TACOMA, WA 98402 PHONE (253) 627-4853 FAX (253) 627-2253
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2013
Vol. CXXIV, No. 24
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY OF TACOMA Devoted to the Courts, Real Estate, Finance, Industrial Activities, and Publication of Legal Notices
Published Since 1890
Report: 27K homeless students in Washington state The reasons are varied: job loss. Unforeseen illness. Increasing housing costs. Foreclosures. The result is the same: homeless students. According to numbers released this past week by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, 27,390 students were reported as homeless in the 2011-12 school year. That number is up 5.1 percent from 2010-11 and up 46.7 percent from 2007-08. Collecting and reporting homeless numbers is a requirement of the federal McKinney-Vento Act, which applies to all homeless children and youth. Districts cite many reasons for the increase. The overall job market is still struggling, in addition to local economic factors, such as the closing of a paper mill in Everett and the decline of the logging industry in Shelton and elsewhere. More students are living on their own. And funding for services that help prevent homelessness is being cut. Districts also say that better reporting and more awareness have lead to more accurate numbers. The federal McKinney-Vento Act ensures that homeless children have access to "the same free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education, as provided to other children and youths." McKinney-Vento defines a student as homeless if he or she lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. In practical terms, the student is classified as homeless if he or she lives in emergency or transitional shelters; motels, hotels, trailer parks or camping grounds; shared housing due to loss of housing or economic hardship; hospitals secondary to abandonment or awaiting foster care placement; cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing or similar situations; or public or private places not ordinarily used as sleeping accommodations for people. The lack of a stable home puts tremendous pressure on homeless students. Mobility rates are higher than students in homes, absentee rates are higher, health problems are more prevalent and graduation rates are lower. Washington state receives about $950,000 per year from the federal government to help homeless students. That money is given to districts in the form of competitive grants, with money going to districts with the greatest need. Districts that do not receive McKinney-Vento grant funding can use Title I or other state or federal funding sources to support the educational needs of homeless students.
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9 groups set to receive $3M for human services programs in Tacoma
Posted online Mon., Feb. 4 Tacoma City Council is scheduled to vote this week to award nearly $3 million to nine organizations to provide human services in Tacoma through the end of next year. According to city staff, councilmembers set aside funding in the city's general fund 2013-2014 biennial budget and directed Tacoma's Human Services Commission to review and recommend organizations and programs worthy of funding. The commission made its recommendations to councilmembers last fall. A public hearing to discuss the recommendations was held on Dec. 11, and councilmembers adopted the recommendations a week later. If approved by city council, funding would be awarded to the following organizations: Catholic Community Services of Western Washington -- $719,574 -- HAS Emergency Services ($272,000) -- HAS Supportive Services ($277,574) -- Phoenix Housing Network ($170,000) Northwest Leadership Foundation -$205,100 -- ProTeen ($205,100) Peace Community Center -- $226,000 -- Hilltop FLITE ($90,000) -- Hilltop Scholars ($92,000) -- PCC-Elementary ($44,000) Pierce County AIDS Foundation -- $262,603 -- Medical Case Management ($166,603) -- Oasis Youth Center ($96,000) The Rescue Mission -- $427,500 -- Family Shelter ($255,000) -- Good Neighbor Cafe ($60,000) -- Youth Program ($112,500) Shared Housing Services -- $264,664 -- Shared Housing for Unaccompanied Youth ($224,664) -- Shared Housing ($40,000) Tacoma Community House -- $392,224 -- Adult Literacy & Employment ($154,932) -- Multilingual Immigration ($51,936) -- Resources for Education and Career Help ($185,356) Tacoma Urban League -- $296,740 -- Male Involvement Project ($296,740) Washington Women's Employment and Education -- $204,660 -- Housing Bridges to Self-Sufficiency ($49,440) -- REACH Plus ($155,220) Additional human services programming will be
Learn more about Tacoma Link light rail expansion Posted online Fri., Feb. 1 File Photo By Todd Matthews, Editor Sound Transit will host two open houses this month to discuss a plan under way to identify a preferred alternative route for expanding the 1.6-mile Tacoma Link light rail system. Visitors to the open house will have the opportunity to provide input on six expansion corridor alternatives that have been identified and learn more about efforts to seek the necessary funding. The first open house will be held on Tues., Feb. 12, between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Tacoma Dome Station Plaza, located at 424 East 25th Street. The second open house will be held on Weds., Feb. 13, between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the University of Washington Tacoma, William Philip Hall Conference Center, located at 1918 Pacific Avenue. More information is available online at soundtransit.org.
paid for using approximately $1.2 million in funding for mental health services. Those programs include A Step Ahead BOOST; Hope Sparks Healing Hearts; Associated Ministries Access Point 4 Housing; Greater Lakes Mental Health PORCH; New Phoebe House Emergency Shelter and Transitional Housing; Hilltop Artists in Residence Outreach; Mary Bridge Children's Advocacy Center; Pierce County AIDS Medical Case Management and OASIS; Pierce County Juvenile Court Diversion; Shared Housing Unaccompanied Youth Housing; TACID HELP; TPCHD Family Support; and Salvation Army Jarvie Family Emergency Housing Center. Tacoma City Council is scheduled to vote on a resolution authorizing the expenditures during its meeting on Tues., Feb. 5 at 5 p.m. in City Council Chambers on the first floor of the Tacoma Municipal Building, located at 747 Market Street. Council meetings are streamed live online at tvtacoma.com and broadcast live on TV Tacoma.