5 Things You Must Know About McKinney-Vento

Among the jumble of homeless assistance legislation, federal and state programs, nonprofit service centers, and the like - there is one piece of federal legislation that stands out as the cornerstone of the homeless assistance movement: the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

These are the FIVE THINGS you need to know about McKinney-Vento:

1. It was the first federal response to the growing homelessness crisis in the United States. Passed in 1987, the text established that homelessness is an immediate and growing problem that the nation had an obligation to address.

The original text of the bill stated:

"The Congress finds that -

1. the Nation faces an immediate and unprecedented crisis due to the lack of shelter for a growing number of individuals and families, including elderly persons, handicapped persons, families with children, Native Americans, and veterans;

2. the problem of homelessness has become more severe and, in the absence of more effective efforts, is expected to become dramatically worse, endangering the lives and safety of the homeless;

3. the causes of homelessness are many and complex, and homeless individuals have diverse needs;

4. there is no single, simple solution to the problem of homelessness because of the different subpopulations of the homeless, the different causes of and reasons for homelessness, and the different needs of homeless individuals;

5. due to the record increase in homelessness, States, units of local government, and private voluntary organizations have been unable to meet the basic human needs of all the homeless and, in the absence of greater Federal assistance, will be unable to protect the lives and safety of all the homeless in need of assistance; and

6. the Federal Government has a clear responsibility and an existing capacity to fulfill a more effective and responsible role to meet the basic human needs and to engender respect for the human dignity of the homeless."

2. To this day, McKinney-Vento remains the largest federal investment into preventing and addressing homelessness in the nation.

Largest in terms of dollars spent, largest in terms of people served, largest in various types of the word.

McKinney-Vento established 20 homelessness assistance programs out of 9 federal agencies and last year, nearly $2 billion was distributed through these assistance programs.

3. McKinney-Vento established the Interagency Council on Homelessness, a group of representatives from 15 federal agencies charged to design a comprehensive approach to reduce, prevent, and end homelessness in the country.

This Council exists today, and met for the first time under the Obama administration on June 18, 2009 to discuss permanent supportive housing for the nation's veterans. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis serve as Chair and Vice Chair of the Council.

4. The McKinney-Vento Act provides services to homeless children, including access and the right to attend public schools. As a condition of the Act, public schools are required to register homeless children as well as designate a statewide homeless coordinator to review policies and create procedures to ensure that homeless children are able to attend school.

5. In May 2009, Congress passed the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act, which reauthorized the McKinney-Vento programs. It was the first significant reauthorization in nearly 20 years.

While some of the details about how HEARTH will practically affect McKinney-Vento programs have yet to be seen, the goal of the HEARTH Act was to make transformative changes to the homeless assistance programs under the Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as decisively shift the focus of these programs from managing homelessness to preventing and ending homelessness.

A couple quirky facts: McKinney and Vento are actually Stewart B. McKinney (R - CT) and Bruce Vento (D - MN). The two were known for a their dedication to the needs of those less fortunate, and are considered pillars of this legislation. Both died of unnatural causes: McKinney died of AIDS complications and Vento died of mesothelioma, brought on by asbestos exposure.