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Survey Finds School Counselors Serving as Site Homeless Coordinator

A state-level report released April 2019 drew attention to the conditions and concerns associated with meeting the needs of the homeless population in California. 
Major findings indicated that among the districts that designate school-site Homeless Liaisons, 55% said they rely on school counselors to be their point person at each school site. 

California Homeless Youth Project (CHYP) and the ACLU Foundations of California (ACLU) released joint reports examining ways that California's public PK-12 schools and colleges support students experiencing homelessness. Given school counselors' distinct role in supporting homeless students, we thought that counselors would be interested in reading the report findings. 

Based on survey responses from nearly 700 "homeless liaisons" at school districts and community colleges across California, this report documents the overwhelming task that homeless liaisons face, as well as the additional resources needed for students experiencing homelessness at every educational level. 

A preview of the report's findings include:
  • Liaisons at all levels lack the capacity, resources, and time to effectively support students experiencing homelessness.
  • Liaisons cannot effectively refer students to outside services, especially housing.
  • Public schools at all levels do not effectively identify students experiencing homelessness.
  • Encouragingly, more than eight out of ten PK-12 school districts have adopted the nationally-recognized best practice of designating liaisons at every school site. To read or share the report with your fellow educators, you can find the document here

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