Contra Costa Office of Education wins state homeless grant
PLEASANT HILL, Calif. (Dec. 27, 2021) — Contra Costa County Office of Education won a three-year grant from the California Department of Education worth $4.5 million to serve as one of three Education for Homeless Children and Youth Technical Assistance Centers in the state.
CCCOE will serve 25 counties in Northern California. Los Angeles and San Diego county offices of education will host the other two technical assistance centers.
“This grant brings important resources to help educators support unhoused students and their families in Contra Costa County and throughout Northern California,” Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools Lynn Mackey said. “With more than 2,500 unhoused children and youth in our county alone, there is a tremendous need to figure out how to better serve these students. We look forward to working with our colleagues in other counties and community-based organizations on the best way to educate students who are most in need.”
Technical Assistance center
CCCOE will serve as the technical assistance center for the counties of Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sierra, Solano, Sonoma, Sutter, Tuolumne, Yolo and Yuba.
As a technical assistance center, CCCOE will provide support, guidance, and expertise to all county offices of education homeless liaisons regarding the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistant Act. Homeless liaisons at each county office of education are stationed to support interagency collaboration and capacity building, both at the state and individual student level, focused on improving identification and educational outcomes for children and youth experiencing homelessness.
As part of the grant, each of the regional centers is expected to conduct a needs assessment and program evaluation, provide professional development and technical assistance, use new and existing training resources, and create, model and sustain partnerships.
Statewide, the three centers will work with CDE to develop online training materials, an online resource hub, lead efforts to assist rural counties with homeless education and facilitate work with community-based organizations.
Jay Bedecarré
Jay Bedecarré is a long-time resident and writer in Concord and Clayton. He began his newspaper writing career while still a senior at Mt. Diablo High School and he has been part of The Pioneer since its inception in 2003. Jay also operates Bay Area Festivals, presenting events around the San Francisco Bay Area including Bay Area KidFest annually in Downtown Concord.