Impact-KCK-Overcoming-Barriers-to-Homeless-Students-Success

Impact KCK Assessment Dr Anne R Williamson Victor and Caroline Schutte/Missouri Professor of Urban Affairs Director, L.P Cookingham Institute of Urban Affairs University of Missouri – Kansas City NAEHCY Annual Conference October 28, 2018 The Challenge: Student Homelessness • 1,151 homeless students in the Kansas City Kansas Public Schools in the 2014-2015 school year • 249 homeless infants and pre-school children in KCKPS in 20142015 • The needs of homeless students are often complex and require multiple interventions to enable school success • Wyandotte County is the poorest of the 105 counties in Kansas The Solution: Collective Impact • Effective application of the collective impact model for community change • Collective impact requires • • • • • Shared vision (agenda) Shared measurement systems Mutually reinforcing activities Continuous communication Backbone organization Impact KCK Results • Impact KCK results, August 2015-January 2018 20152016 20162017 20172018* Total Families Reached 207 394 401 1,002 Families Housed Families Employed 58 116 132 306 46 87 143 276 Dramatic Reduction in Student Homelessness Homeless Students, K-12 20142015 1,151 20152016 855 20162017 640 20172018* 594 Year-by-Year Reduction in Student Homelessness Reduction 2015-2016 2016-2017 as % Homeless Students, 25.7% 25.1% K-12 20172018* Total** 7.2% 48.4% In the First Year Alone • In the first year alone: • School attendance among formerly homeless students increased to be consistent with KCKPS average • School mobility decreased to one or fewer non-normative moves • Transportation costs for homeless students decreased by 22% Why Impact KCK is Successful • • • • • • • Accurate information about the causes of the policy problem Commitment by community leaders Capacity and commitment on the part of the backbone organization Collective capacity to overcome a range of challenges as they arise Ability to attract multiple funding sources Effective communication among partners Ability to recruit new partners when some existing partners drop out of the initiative • Determination among a core set of partners that they will go the distance to solve the policy problem Important Highlights • Strength and flexibility of backbone organization • Single point of entry for services • Single navigator provides intensive case management • Permanent housing solutions are a formal part of Impact KCK Download the Impact KCK Assessment and Toolkit • Visit the Cookingham Institute’s Impact KCK page to download: • Impact KCK Assessment • Impact KCK Toolkit https://bloch.umkc.edu/Cookingham/ImpactKCK