Back to School Resource Round-up for Youth Services Providers

In preparation for back to school, many youth and family services providers are making plans to ensure that remote learning runs smoothly, that youth stay healthy, and that they are connected to resources for academic success. 

TNOYS is compiling relevant information for stakeholders, including TNOYS members and other first responders, as they work to assist youth with back-to-school challenges amid COVID-19. We will be updating this post with more information as it becomes available, including information from youth-service providers on how they are navigating back-to-school.

Resource Pages

Texas Education Agency

Texas Education Agency has released information and resources on education, nutrition, and similar topics related to children and schools. Many of these resources address the needs of vulnerable student populations, including youth experiencing homelessness.

View select resources below, and check back regularly for updates:

• Engaging Highly Mobile and At-Risk Students
• Guidance for students Experiencing Homelessness
• Guidance for Students in Foster Care
• Instructional Continuity Planning
  • Guidance on providing internet
  • Information Technology Guidance

• Texas Education for Homeless Children and Youth COVID-19 Resource Page
  • Guidance for Students Experiencing Homelessness
  • Supporting Students Living in Shelters
  • Supporting Students Living in Doubled Up Situations

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Many resource pages from the CDC offer helpful guidance for assisting youth in coping with stress and helping them learn from home. The CDC also offers guidance for shared housing situations and guidance to help direct services providers keep themselves and their clients safe.

• Managing Stress and Anxiety
• Considerations for Community-Based Organizations
• Guidance for Shared or Congregate Housing
• Guidance for Direct Service Providers
• Guidance for Direct Service Providers, Caregivers, Parents, and People with Development and Behavioral Disorders
• Help Children Learn at Home
• Support for Teens and Young Adults

SchoolHouse Connection

SchoolHouse Connection has published many helpful pages that address challenges experienced by youth experiencing homelessness, or those in the foster care system, and youth experiencing homelessness.

• COVID-19 and Homelessness page
• FAQ on COVID-19 and Homelessness
• Preparing for School Reopening and Recovery
  • Guidance for Schools and Districts on Supporting Homeless Students During the 2020-21 School Year
  • Opportunities for Impact: Child and Youth Homelessness, Schools, and COVID-19
• Joint Statement on Equitable Education
• Back to College or Training: An Editable Toolkit for Assisting Youth with Experience in Foster Care or Homelessness
• College and COVID-19: Housing Tips

American Youth Policy Forum

These resources include an information hub that organizes relevant resources by youth population, and the American Enterprise Institute’s blueprint for back-to-school.

• COVID-19 Response Information Hub
• Blog Post: The Impact of COVID-19 through the Lens of Foster Youth and Justice-Involved Youth
• A Blueprint for Back to School

National Child Traumatic Stress Network

The Child Traumatic Stress Network has released several resources to help children and youth cope, including many strategies to help with the back-to-school transition.

• Coping in Hard Times, a fact sheet for specific populations
• Taking Care of Yourself survey 
• Simple Activities for Children and Adolescents

National Alliance to End Homelessness

The National Alliance to End Homelessness recently released a comprehensive document on how homeless assistance providers and system leaders can help the children and youth in their programs continue to progress academically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the complete guidance here.