Moving/declaring homeless?

Paying for College
1

<p>Okay this is sort of a complicated situation and I'm not sure how it's going to affect FAFSA..</p>

<p>With my current financial situation right now, it looks like my parent will be moving back in with her folks in ND. I am somehow trying to find a place to stay because I don't want to end up moving in the middle of my senior year..however, when me and my counselor talked about this, she said she would have to declare me as being a risk of being a homeless teen or being a homeless teen...but now I'm confused..
on the FAFSA form says that if i'm declared to have a risk of being homeless then I don't have to submit parental information (maybe I read it wrong?)
And, I just sent my FAFSA yesterday so...</p>

<p>1) Should I/ how can I fix my FAFSA form to display this new information?
2) If I end up moving in with one of my mom's friends, do I have to fix my FAFSA so it reports my mom's friend's income and assets, or still my mothers (since i'm assuming the friend would be my legal guardian now?)
I'm so confused..i really hate FAFSA..</p>

2

<ol>
<li>yes, you can change a fafsa</li>
<li>No, your mother's friend most likely isn't going to be declared a legal guardian and her info isn't going onto the fafsa. Just because you live with someone besides your parents doesn't make them a legal guardian (I think)</li>
</ol>

<p>question 58 may apply</p>

<ol>
<li>At any time on or after July 1, 2008, did your high school or school district homeless liaison determine that you were an unaccompanied youth who was homeless?</li>
</ol>

<p>For Questions 58-60, answer “Yes” if you received a determination at any time on or after July 1, 2008, that you were an unaccompanied youth who was homeless, or for question 60, self-supporting and at risk of being homeless. Note that the financial aid administrator at your college may require you to provide a copy of the determination if you answered “Yes” to Question 58, 59, or 60.
You may be considered an unaccompanied homeless youth or be a youth who was self-supporting and at risk of being homeless even though you do not have a determination from the district liaison or the director of the programs cited in these questions. These officials only make these determinations if you are in high school or are receiving their services. If you are not in high school or receiving the services of these programs, your financial aid office can determine whether you should be considered an unaccompanied homeless youth or an unaccompanied youth who is self-supporting and at risk of being homeless.
You should contact your financial aid office for assistance if you do not have a determination but believe you are an unaccompanied youth who is homeless or are an unaccompanied youth providing for your own living expenses who is at risk of being homeless. If you are older than 21 but not yet 24, you should also contact your financial aid office if you are homeless or are self-supporting at risk of being homeless.
Answer “No” if you are not homeless, self-supporting and at risk of being homeless, or do not have a determination from a district liaison, director of a cited program, or your financial aid administrator.
Homeless means lacking fixed, regular, and adequate housing, which includes living in shelters, motels, or cars, or temporarily living with other people because you had nowhere else to go.
Unaccompanied means you are not living in the physical custody of your parent or guardian.
Youth means you are 21 years of age or younger or you are still enrolled in high school as of the day you sign this application.</p>

3

<p>If your counselor told you she would fill declare you at risk of being a homeless teen, please ask her for written documentation. You may need to submit that to your financial aid office to verify that you are indeed certified as homeless by a counselor. If she does this, you would check off that box and no, you would not need your mom's info. You would be considered independent for the purposes of financial aid. </p>

<p>In future years, your situation might change. If you were to move to ND to stay with/near mom - or if she were to move back by you - you might be considered dependent in future years. However, if nothing changes after your certification, you would still be considered independent (although you may be asked to certify that nothing has changed).</p>

4

<p>This is very new, and I haven't had to deal with it yet. But I noticed that the wording says district homeless liaison ... so your counselor would need to ask the district homeless liaison to certify you as homeless. Each district has someone who is designated as the homeless liaison.</p>

5

<p>I don't believe you are at risk of being homeless. You do have a permanent place to live and you are choosing not to move to ND. I guess it is worth a shot, but in my senior year of high school three of my friends had parents that moved and each of them temporarily lived with friends. They were not homeless, since they did have the option to move with their parents.</p>

6

<p>My guess is there are other ramifications here. The county may ask for your parents address. They may notificy the local authorities that your parents are not taking responsiblity for you. As said above, I dont think you are at risk -- you have chosent not to live wth parents.</p>

7

<p>The red flag here for me is that the OP stated that his/her counselor said she'd have to declare him/her at risk of being a homeless teen. There may be more to this than we know. It is between the student and the counselor to decide ... OP, please discuss this with your counselor and find out exactly what you should be doing.</p>

<p>If mom lost her job & she is truly struggling, and the student is actually still a dependent student, then student can request a review of the financial situation to reflect the mom's current financial situation.</p>

8

<p>Okay I'm glad you don't think I'm homeless because I didn't think I was supposed to be declared homeless because I technically did have a place to move to, but was choosing not to! But my counselor thinks she knows everything and seriously thinks shes greater than Jesus...i really don't like her..
but thanks for all your advice!</p>

9

<p>You may be in danger of losing your right to go to that high school once your parents move out of the school district. What your GC might be saying is that unless you are declared homeless, your family will either have to pay tuition for you to continue going to school where you are after they move, or you can no longer go to school there. This is the case in many school districts. Once your parents move out of district, you are no longer a resident of that school district. It isn't always so simple as just staying at a friend's house, having those parents named as guardian, and being permitted to continue going to school. There are some school districts that do provide an exception if the family moves during senior year, or for other special circumstances, but I can tell you that many school districts do not operate that way. </p>

<p>You had better check and see what the laws are about staying in that school after your parents move out of district.</p>

10

<p>If the OP is homeless, living in transitional/temporary housing or a doubled up situation, s/he by law has the right to stay in his/her original school if it is his/her desire to do so.</p>

<p>The Department of Education (DOE) is required to educate children who are homeless or living in temporary housing. Federal law (the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act) defines "homeless" as living somewhere that is not "fixed, regular, and adequate." </p>

<p><a href="http://www.serve.org/nche/downloads/mv_full_text.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.serve.org/nche/downloads/mv_full_text.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]

So, students are considered homeless if they:</p>

<p>live in a shelter, transitional shelter, motel, or campground; a car, bus, or train; or a park, abandoned building, or other public place </p>

<p>have been abandoned or are awaiting foster care </p>

<p>must double up with friends or relatives due to loss of housing or economic hardship. </p>

<p>Children who are homeless are entitled to:</p>

<p>A free public education </p>

<p>Attend school no matter how long they have lived at their current location </p>

<p>Stay in their school of origin (the school they attended before becoming homeless or the last school they attended) or immediately enrolling in and attending their new local school </p>

<p>Services comparable to those provided to other students at the school, including programs in vocational and technical education, gifted and talented programs, programs for children with disabilities, and programs for students learning English </p>

<p>Transportation to and from their school of origin, even if they are living outside district lines, and even if transportation is not available to permanently housed students </p>

<p>The same transportation services to and from the new local school that are offered to permanently housed students </p>

<p>In short, students who live in temporary housing must not be denied school enrollment just because of their living situation or because they lack enrollment documentation. </p>

<p>If a dispute arises over school selection, enrollment, transportation, or the question of whether or not a student is homeless, the student must be admitted immediately to the school where she is seeking enrollment pending resolution of the dispute. Once there is a decision made, the parent/guardian must be provided with a written explanation of the school's decision and be informed of the right to appeal. Your district has a liaison (called a "Students in Temporary Housing Content Expert" in New York City) who is required to assist you with the dispute resolution process.</p>

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</p>

11

<p>I don't think a student is considered homeless if the parents move out of district and the child wants to continue at the old school. It is a big issue here. Our school districts have very strict guidelines as to who is permitted to attend the public school districts. NYC has rules as well, I understand. You cannot necessarily stay at your old school if your parents move out of the district. In our district, you would have to pay tuition. In Scarsdale, I don't think you can even do that if your parents move.</p>

12

<p>In NYC public schools if the child moves (example; long island, nj, etc) during the school year, if the family wishes, the child is allowed to stay at the school until the end of the school year . If the family decides to leave, they simply come to school, fill out an intent to move with the new address and the new school and the student is discharged - Code 11 the same day.</p>