Are you looking for ways to better support children and families experiencing homelessness? Need help enhancing recruitment and enrollment efforts in your program? Check out these Individualized Professional Development (iPD) Portfolio courses to learn more!
This learning series is intended for Head Start and early childhood professionals, school-age child care providers, Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Lead Agency or designated entity staff, and other key stakeholders.
Continuing education units are awarded upon completion of each course.
Supporting Children and Families Experiencing Homelessness
This nine-module course is designed to enhance your understanding of family homelessness, including the McKinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance Act's definition of "homeless" as it refers to children and youth. Review other relevant federal regulations for Head Start and CCDF-subsidized programs.
Through the modules, learn how to identify families experiencing homelessness, conduct community outreach, and much more. Knowledge checks and practice scenarios will help deepen your understanding of family homelessness.
Each module takes approximately 30 minutes to complete, depending on your level of experience.
Applied Learning: Supporting Children and Families Experiencing Homelessness
This course builds on the Supporting Children and Families Experiencing Homelessness modules. It's designed to help you apply knowledge about serving families experiencing homelessness and improve positive outcomes through early childhood education, family, and community services. It includes an introductory module and six learning modules.
The course features a case study that highlights eight staff members from a fictional Head Start program. As you progresses through each module, the characters apply the content through individual and programmatic actions. In the final module, review the characters’ approaches and successes and considers how these outcomes could be applied to their program and community.
Read more:
Resource Type: Article
National Centers: Parent, Family and Community Engagement
Audience: Family Service Workers
Last Updated: July 16, 2025