Early Education
The McKinney-Vento Act requires that states and school districts provide equal access to a free public preschool education for eligible young children experiencing homelessness. Collaboration with Head Start and other early childhood education programs is mandated. NCHEP works closely with early education partners to strengthen coordination between homeless liaisons and early education providers.
Resources
Early Care & Education for Young Children Experiencing Homelessness
This brief from the National Center for Homeless Education provides information and suggests best practices to facilitate collaboration between schools, service providers, agencies, and early childhood programs for young children experiencing homelessness.
Supporting Young Children Experiencing Homelessness
Requirements under the law, as well as helpful practices for developing collaboration with early education partners, can be found in this NCHE brief. The brief includes a spotlight on North Carolina’s state coordination for early childhood education.
Local Interagency Coordinating Council
LICC serves young children with disabilities and developmental delays, and their families. Homeless liaisons can also find their coordinating council here.
Find Quality Early Childhood Programs and Supports
Early Education Collaboration
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The goal of this coordination is to improve the quality of early learning experiences and support a smoother transition to kindergarten for both homeless and non-homeless students.