Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1994. / Title from title page screen, viewed April 4, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Lanny Morreau, Pamela H. Wheeler (co-chairs), William Rau, Paul Baker, John Briggs. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-120) and abstract. Also available in print.

This qualitative case study explored how school district and campus-level administrators coordinate resources and services for currently enrolled homeless students. Participants in this study included three district-level administrators designated as the homeless liaison and three campus principals. Data collected and analyzed included audio recordings of semi-structured interviews of each participant, documents at the district and campus-levels, school board meeting notes, and research field notes. The findings suggested that district and campus stakeholders embraced a shared vision of collaborative policy implementation to support the needs of students living in homelessness conditions. Findings also suggested that moral purpose is reflected through the intentional, collaborative efforts of district and campus administrators. Additionally, the findings suggested that social capital develops in the collaborative processes between district and campus leaders while they broker resources to foster developing social capital of this student population. Mobilization of resources through collaborative policy implementation can foster cohesion while supporting students and can counter the impact of living in homelessness conditions.

The federal government enacted the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (MVA) to equip schools with services to help alleviate the many barriers students experiencing homelessness face in pursuit of educational opportunities. Educational agencies use federally mandated liaisons to uphold the provisions of the MVA. Despite the homeless liaisons' importance in facilitating the policy, few studies have examined how liaisons perceive their service area's response to homelessness. This study explored homeless liaisons' perceptions of MVA implementation in their service areas. Researchers invited every homeless liaison in three southern states to complete an online survey focusing on perceptions of MVA implementation and their service area's response to homelessness. Of the 369 practitioners identified as a homeless liaison solicited for study participation, 32 percent completed surveys. Results indicated significant differences in perceived implementation in the level of collaboration with teachers and school administrators, liaisons' job titles, school's receipt of federal Education for Homeless Children and Youth funding, and awareness of homelessness in terms of general awareness, interaction, policy, and needs. Findings indicate that collaboration and awareness are major factors that affect perceptions of implementation. Furthermore, the results indicate that liaisons must take steps to ensure a collaborative environment to implement the MVA.

The number of children experiencing homelessness continues to rise at alarming rates. Schools are on the front lines of service delivery and face numerous barriers in an attempt to meet the educational and psychosocial needs of these children. This study explored the perceptions of homeless liaisons in three states about the implementation of the McKinney Vento Act within the school districts. While no differences were found across the states, significant differences were found between rural and urban geographic densities in the perceived implementation of the federal legislation. The significant differences relate to collaboration within the community and resonate with the lack of resources available to the families experiencing homelessness in rural areas.