Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) Grant Overview
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s (DPI) Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program is offering Wisconsin local educational agencies (LEAs) an opportunity to apply for an EHCY Innovation grant OR EHCY Compliance grant. The EHCY grant program receives an annual grant award from the United States Department of Education (USDE). DPI awards these funds to eligible LEAs through a competitive and discretionary process.
Legislation
The intent of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act legislation is to ensure that all children and youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence receive access to the same free, appropriate public education, including a preschool education, as provided to other children and youth. To meet this goal, DPI and LEAs are required to develop, review, and revise policies to remove barriers to the enrollment, attendance, and the academic success of children and youth experiencing homelessness and provide homeless children and youth with the opportunity to meet the same challenging State academic standards to which all students are held. Federal EHCY funds are granted to DPI under the McKinney-Vento Act, which are then subgranted to Wisconsin LEAs.
Who is Eligible to Apply
All Wisconsin LEAs, which includes public school districts and independent charter schools, are eligible to apply for an EHCY grant.
Innovation Grant
- 3 year grant period (2023-2026). Recipients receive a grant award each year for 3 years.
- Funding amount is between $25,000 - $100,000/year based on certified data from 2021-22 of students experiencing homelessness in the district.
- Focus on INNOVATIVE practices, at least some of which have an academic component. Applicants write their own goals after conducting a needs assessment and/or data analysis. Goals are not intended to focus on compliance related topics (such as: basic training for all staff, transportation, creating district posters/ materials, etc.) If applicable, activities (action steps) related to the larger goal can include and build upon compliance related topics mentioned above.
- DPI meets with grant recipients 1-2 times a year; conducts a McKinney-Vento compliance review; and completes 1 site visit per grant cycle.
- Recipients are required to complete 2 grant reports per year.
Compliance Grant
- 2 year grant period (2023-2025). Recipients receive a grant award each year for 2 years.
- Funding amount will be $15,000/year based on the number of applicants and total amount of funding available at DPI.
- Focus is on COMPLIANCE. Applicants will choose from pre-written grant goals and complete action steps toward completion of chosen goals.
- DPI meets with grant recipients 4-5 times in the first year and 1-2 times in the second year; and conducts a McKinney-Vento compliance review during the grant cycle.
- Recipients are required to complete 1 grant report per year and deliver a grant presentation by the end of the second year.
Amount of Funds Available
Varies annually based on federal funding. Generally around $1,000,000 of grant funds are awarded to Wisconsin LEAs annually.
2023 EHCY Grant Announcement and Technical Assistance Opportunities
Need help thinking of which grant is right for your district?
Check out this guiding questions document for assistance! EHCY Grant Comparison Guiding Questions document
Grant Announcement Memo, February 2023
- Please review our informational webinar materials to learn more about the difference between the two grants (information below).
- If your district has already decided which grant to apply for, please attend or watch one of the grant application webinars to walk through sections of the grant applications and ask questions as time allows (recordings posted below). All webinars delivered live were also recorded and posted on this webpage.
You are invited to attend our Question/Answer Office Hours on March 29, 10:00 a.m. to ask questions now that the district may have started the application process. There is no agenda for this meeting. Connection informtation through Microsoft Teams:
Click here to join the meeting
Meeting ID: 292 832 967 900
Passcode: zAn5Vj
1. EHCY Grant Informational Webinar: Thursday, March 2, 9:00 a.m.
Presentation; Recording: https://youtu.be/94FK_Hidk4E
2. EHCY Innovation Grant Application Webinar: Tuesday, March 7, 9:00 a.m.
Presentation; Recording: https://youtu.be/iBr0OAi80IA
3. EHCY Compliance Grant Application Webinar: Tuesday, March 7, 10:00 a.m.
Presentation; Recording: https://youtu.be/cy_Nnck_inc
2023 EHCY Innovation Grant Materials
Qualtrics Online EHCY Innovation Grant Application
2023-26 EHCY Innovation Grant Guidelines and Rubric
EHCY Innovation Grant Assurances
EHCY Application Data Guide
Use this link for a Google doc version of all application questions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15O1fOd_tVz86xTdtH7OcdFE5ZE9coAblddO6SiM7FWI/copy#
2023 EHCY Compliance Grant Materials
Qualtrics Online EHCY Compliance Grant Application
2023-25 EHCY Compliance Grant Guidelines and Rubric
EHCY Compliance Grant Assurances
Use this link for a Google doc version of all application questions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BP2jPwmVXTiE_mq6sHxbXJWvUvPRQEEej5P-Kk2J5DQ/copy#
2023 EHCY Grant Competition Timeline
|
Grant Application Available |
February 27, 2023 |
|
Grant Application due to DPI |
April 11, 2023 (6 weeks after application is available) |
|
Applicants notified of intent to fund |
July 2023 |
2020-23 Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) Grant Information
List of the 2020-23 EHCY grant reipients and 2021-23 EHCY compliance grant recipients