PBN: Report: Homeless students in R.I. undercounted

By Mary MacDonald - March 21, 2019 6:01 am

PROVIDENCE - The number of students in Rhode Island who are experiencing homelessness and would qualify for educational services is thought to be undercounted, according to a new study released Thursday.

The under-identification of students who are homeless may impede their access to resources, including federal funds for local schools. The children are entitled to services and interventions, such as free transportation to their home school if their family has to move because they've lost their home, according to the report by HousingWorks RI at Roger Williams University.

The report, called “Falling Through the Cracks: Student Homelessness in Rhode Island,” is based on the research of Marjorie Pang Si En, as part of her thesis for a public policy degree at Brown University.

Her research examined the effectiveness of a federal program that provides funds to school districts for children who are homeless, and which distributed $263,597 to a total of five Ocean State school districts in 2017.

The report concludes that homeless students - who are often living “doubled up” with extended family members - may be undercounted by districts because they are not identified as homeless by district liaisons.

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Courtesy of Providence Business News