American Rescue Plan Homeless Children and Youth Program. An Overview of ARP-HCY State Plans

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021, which included an $800 million reservation within the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund to address the specific and urgent needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness, in light of the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds were to be used to address the academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of these children and youth. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) awarded these funds to state educational agencies (SEAs) in two disbursements: ARP Homeless I (allocated in April of 2021) and ARP Homeless II (allocated in July 2021). This brief: (1) provides a summary of the American Rescue Plan Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) program state plans submitted as part of the application for funding by September 2021; (2) describes trends in how states are using the funds to address the needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness who have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; and (3) features innovative practices for expanding the capacity of state and local educational agencies to address the needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness.