Hidden in Plain Sight: Fear, Underidentification, and Funding Gaps for Housing-Insecure Students in Los Angeles County

Identifying students experiencing homelessness remains a major challenge across Los Angeles.

“I can’t speak to how all of my 451 school districts and charters do [this]. Once unhoused youth have been identified, then the homeless liaison must have at least one identified McKinney-Vento liaison per district or per charter. Then it’s the responsibility of that individual to identify, either they use a housing questionnaire or students self-identify. We generally encourage them (students) to do some type of needs assessment; it’s a case-by-case basis. If you’re dealing with a young person who’s on their own, that’s going to look very different than a young person who’s in a family structure.”
— Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE)

Student data used for tracking and verification is fragmented across multiple platforms, complicating the process for homeless liaisons who must cross-check disparate data systems to confirm eligibility and status.

“Well, you know, we are through the Family Resource Center, so we have a referral system. If a student is identified as unhoused, we verify their status and tag them in our student data monitoring system, which is AERIES. Once their status is verified, we have housing questionnaires that they complete.”
— Rowland Elementary

Identification frequently occurs as a reaction to acute crises (e.g., domestic violence, eviction, mental health collapse) or through informal, human-centered referral systems rather than proactive institutional outreach.

“I get referrals all the time, mostly based on observation. It’s a ‘human system.’ So in the human system, the people-to-people system, there may be tutors, or educators who may see a student in the classroom and they might be wearing the same thing all the time, or may need grooming, they (liaisons) refer to them.”
— Norwalk La Mirada Unified

Fear of stigmatization and severe punitive consequences, such as child welfare or ICE involvement, is the primary driver preventing families and youth from self-identifying.

“I got a call yesterday from a principal, and it had to do with ICE targeting an unhoused family within a multi-family home. The homeowner told the family, ‘You need to get out of here because you have to have a deportation date, and we don’t want ICE to come.’ So now we’re seeing issues where the status of one family may negatively affect other families or community members in a negative way.”
— Hacienda La Puente Unified

Unaccompanied homeless youth frequently conceal their status through proxy enrollment via non-parental caregivers, resulting in them being formally identified only after an acute crisis exposes their couch surfing or independent living situation.

“We have a lot of unhoused youth who are very, very nervous about being identified as being unhoused. The person will be identified as a caregiver, so that person enrolling will identify themselves as a caregiver and complete a caregiver affidavit. The caregiver will then enroll the young person, only to find out that the young person’s actually couch surfing, and they’re really on their own, staying in their car.”
— Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE)

A perception gap exists where families, particularly those who are “doubled up” or residing in unconventional housing, do not self-identify because they do not believe their situation meets the definition of “homelessness.”

“We’re, like, 80–85% Hispanic, right? And so, what I have noticed is even if they’re [families] doubled up or in that sense of housing, they don’t think they’re considered homeless. Sometimes you have to explain it a little bit more to our families, for example asking the question of, ‘Are you the primary homeowner? Is this your property?’ Then, in a way, they are unhoused, right? Because the homeowner could kick them out at any time, then they would be left to figure it out.”
— Wilsona Elementary

Federal McKinney-Vento specific funding is still inadequate given the need, and no dedicated statewide money for supplemental education dollars.

“I think McKinney-Vento is interesting because it’s a very tiny pot of money as it is. Homelessness is not a category that we (districts) receive additional funding for, which is an interesting problem, right?”
— Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE)

The mandatory reliance on expiring, short-term grants introduces critical uncertainty for essential direct supports, threatening the long-term provision of key student services.

“I mean, one of the things that I feel is very successful within our own district is our prepaid card assistance program, but those cards are purchased through grant money. We are the recipients of the EHCY grant; we’re just not sure what’s going to happen for the 2026-27 academic year and moving forward. So, we are all still on the cusp of waiting to see what will happen.”
— Hacienda La Puente Unified

In the absence of dedicated government funding, most districts rely extensively on leveraging collaborative networks and community donations to supply basic needs and supplemental student resources.

“We have connected with big non-profit agencies like Baby 2 Baby and Feed the Children. We’re actually a hub for them right now. I feel like most of our resources and supports have always been through our community partners.”
— Hacienda La Puente Unified (San Gabriel Valley)

Refine Identification Protocols: Establish Proactive, Trust-Based Strategies

Advance Data Integration and Systemic Capacity

1. Establish unified, cross-referenced data platforms.
2. Mandate bi-annual cross-system data audits by liaisons.
3. Integrate qualitative needs assessment data with student records.

Stabilize Capacity and Sustain Financial Support