Region 7 ECYEH Program 

On July 22, 1987, the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act became public law. This was the first comprehensive federal law dealing with the problems of homelessness. The McKinney-Vento Act was recently reauthorized under the Every Student Succeeds Act in December 2015.

The main objective of PA’s Education for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness (ECYEH) program is to make sure homeless youth have access to appropriate education while removing barriers that homeless children face. Its goal is have the educational process continue as uninterrupted as possible while the children are in homeless situations. Some of the other objectives of our program are to inform school districts of their responsibilities to homeless children and youth, increase awareness about the needs of homeless children, explain current legislation and policies and provide practical tips for working with homeless children.

This includes 78 school districts, four public charters schools and three full-time career and technical schools. The Regional Coordinator for Pennsylvania’s Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness Program is located in the Luzerne Intermediate Unit 18 in Kingston, PA (Luzerne County).

The Region 7 staff targets the needs of homeless children, youth and their families. We are committed to ensuring all students experiencing homelessness have the opportunity to succeed in school. The goal is to provide as much stability as possible, educational assistance and support to children living in transitional situations such as homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters and other temporary housing situations.

The coordinators work in collaboration with the school districts and shelter/transitional housing providers to ensure continuity, while the children are in homeless situations.

Areas of service provided include:

• Training school district liaisons and shelter providers

• Technical assistance

• Personal visits to sites

• Distribution of literature

• School enrollment and placement issues

• Referrals for clothing, food, shelter, transportation and other related services

We provide training on the following topics:

• McKinney-Vento 101

• School Staff and Faculty McKinney-Vento Overview

• New McKinney-Vento Liaison Training

• Pre and Post PDE monitoring support

• Foster Care

• Post-Identification

• Importance of Collaboration

• McKinney-Vento and Early Childhood (Head Starts, Early Intervention)

Click here for LIU 18 Board Policy 251

For additional information on the services provided and/or technical assistance, please contact:

Jeff Zimmerman                                              Darci Berti                                Andy Kuhl
ECYEH/Foster Region 7 Coordinator             Program Specialist                   Program Consultant
368 Tioga Avenue                                           570-718-4697                          570-718-4646
Kingston, PA 18704                                        dberti@liu18.org                      akuhl@liu18.org
570-718-4613
jzimmerman@liu18.org

Click here for the Region 7 Foster Website