FARMINGTON — Fifty-two students in Regional School Unit 9 were identified as homeless or housing unstable under a federal law as of March 4, including 13 unaccompanied minors, according to Family Engagement Coordinator Amanda Clark.

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is a federal law intended to support students whose living situations interfere with their ability to attend and succeed in school.

On March 10, Clark told the board of directors that 25 of those students were in pre-kindergarten through grade 5, and 27 were in grades 6 through 12. She said 35 of the 52 students were categorized as doubled up, meaning they were staying temporarily with others.

“Doubled up is our highest qualifier, as it is for most school districts in our area and in the state …,” Clark said.

Clark said the number of unaccompanied minors tends to ebb and flow and does not necessarily mean a student is completely alone.

“It might mean a student who is living at a family member who’s not their guardian but not with their parents, which would be doubled up or a high school student for instance that’s maybe staying at a friend’s because there’s a conflict at home where they’re not able to stay at home,” Clark said.

Clark said she and district teams are supporting “around 102 students and families through community connect” at the elementary level. She said students referred for that level of help often have needs beyond the everyday school setting.

“So my role in that is to work with those teams and be a partner to be able to do some groundwork, maybe outside of the school day or outside of the school walls,” Clark said. “That would be harder for someone who is a classroom teacher or school social counselor to be doing on top of their role.”

Clark said that support includes utility assistance, rental assistance and referrals for counseling, case management, housing support, food and clothing support.

“We have seen an 83% increase in funding going towards … utilities, that is mainly electric and oil bills,” Clark said.

She said the district has used a preventing homelessness grant to help families who may not qualify under McKinney-Vento but are at risk of losing housing because they cannot pay for heat or electricity.

“So we’re able to use those funds to help support them and keep them in their home and from becoming homeless or having housing instability,” Clark said.

Clark said RSU 9 has also expanded partnerships with contracted agencies to provide counseling services through interns, allowing students without insurance to receive services free of charge.

“I am excited to say that some of the ongoing partnerships we have to provide counseling services for students in the district we expanded on by having MOUs (memorandums of understanding) that also cover interns,” Clark said.

Clark also highlighted family engagement work at Cascade Brook School, including monthly activities, after-school events and take-home family engagement bingo aimed in part at reducing chronic absenteeism. She said 22 families had signed up for an upcoming family engagement night.

Asked when the utility grant expires, Clark said the preventing student homelessness grant had been approved to continue through the state, but with significantly less funding.

“It will be a significant reduction in providing funding for such things as utilities, and rental assistance,” Clark said. “But yes, it will be a hardship having a reduction in that grant for sure.”

Clark said the district has built strong partnerships with Central Maine Power, local oil companies and Western Maine Community Action to help families facing hardship.

“They have been wonderful,” Clark said of Western Maine Community Action.

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