Maryland homeless students increase by a quarter in past 6 years

BALTIMORE — The number of homeless students in Maryland has risen by 24% over six years thanks to soaring rents and improved identification of students facing housing instability, according to Maryland education data and education officials.

At the same time, federal funding for homeless services will decrease by 11% following federal cuts at the U.S. Department of Education, leading to fewer resources available to support homeless students, said Cherie Duvall-Jones, Deputy Director of Communications for Maryland State Department of Education.

Homeless students in Baltimore City accounted for 5,732 of the student body population for the 2023-2024 school year. Baltimore County came close behind with 2,791, followed by Montgomery County with 1,804, data from the Maryland State Department of Education showed.

Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties numbered 1,245 and 1,234 homeless students among their student body population, respectively.

Baltimore City and Baltimore County have the lowest median household income, with $59,000 and $90,000, respectively, according to 2023 U.S. Census data.

In comparison, Montgomery, Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties each have a median household income of more than $100,000, per the census.

“It’s hard to overstate how devastating not having a secure residence is for a kid,” YouthREACH MD Principal Investigator Jay Unick said. “It’s hard to complete high school when you don’t even have a place where you can sit down.”

YouthREACH MD is a program run by the University of Maryland School of Social Work and the Maryland Department of Housing and Community, which collects data statewide about youth homelessness.

“We never want folks to be in such unstable conditions,” said Jennifer Laque, Anne Arundel Public Schools’ homeless education liaison.

These children are considered homeless under the McKinney-Vento Assistance Act, which doesn’t simply mean they live outdoors. Under the federal law, homelessness includes living in emergency shelters, cars or motels, as well as “doubling-up,” which means a family is staying with friends or relatives.

McKinney-Vento allows homeless students to remain in and/or enroll in their school of choice, as well as providing transportation, academic support, and other services.

Almost 8% of Baltimore City students are considered homeless by federal law. The next-highest districts are Talbot County, with 7% of its students experiencing housing insecurity, Kent County at 5% and Baltimore County with 2.5%, according to an analysis by The Baltimore Sun of state data.

The states that hold the titles for the highest student homelessness rates are California with 17%, New York with 11%, Texas with 8% — the same percentage as Baltimore City — and Florida with 6%, according to 2022-2023 homeless student data from the U.S. Department of Education. Maryland only has 1% of its student population, according to the data.

Laque told The Sun that her office has seen an increase in McKinney-Vento enrollments in her county over the past three years — this past year, 200 more students enrolled in services at the district level than the year before.

The result is that students are under greater stress and are often unable to fully engage with their education during the year, Laque said.

There has not been a change in the demographics of these students, Laque said. However, she has seen that more families are staying in motels and motels than in previous years.

The spike in average rental prices in Anne Arundel for the past few years has caused higher eviction rates, leading to more students experiencing housing instability and homelessness, Laque said.

“A lot of times we see that our families are able to get into a home,” Laque said. The issue lies in continuing to make rent — when combined with lack of regular employment, families can face eviction, she said.

But schools are doing a better job of identifying homeless children, too, which has also increased the total number, State Department of Education’s Duvall-Jones said.

Increased state funding and outreach programs at the local level have helped identify students experiencing homelessness and circulated more information about resources available, Duvall-Jones said.

But as these services are sought more frequently, the U.S. Department of Education funding for McKinney-Vento will see a decrease of 11% for the state compared to last year, said Duvall-Jones.

The result is fewer dollars for school districts to provide services like transportation, school supplies and clothes, academic support and mental health support, she said.

The state does not know the exact total amount the state will be awarded for the upcoming school year, but the state is projected to lose $251,000 compared to the previous year, Duvall-Jones said.

Federal dollars for homeless youth services other than McKinney-Vento have also been cut back, Unick said. The pullback of COVID-19 funds and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s pressure to decrease the budget make the resources harder to obtain.

“We’re going to struggle to provide better resources,” YouthREACH’s Unick said. “This current administration has done a good job of holding the line on some of these most vulnerable groups, but …it’s hard to expand services in this environment.”

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