A moment with the Congressman
Counseling for homeless children is vital
Rep. Jim Renacci
Growing up the son of a railroad worker and nurse in a low-income home, I was strapped with the goal of becoming the first in my family to go to college. I understand the obstacles and hoops one must go through to be successful in their adult life, and how much harder they become without the proper guidance.
In our great nation, there are still around 1.26 million homeless children currently enrolled in public school, a number that may surprise you by its size. What’s also troubling for these students, though, is the lack of access to counseling and mentoring services compared to other students. According to the American School Counselors Association, the standard for student-to-counselor ratio should be 250:1; unfortunately that ratio has ballooned to about one for every thousand students for low-income schools that teach many of these homeless students.
Addressing the shortage of guidance services to homeless students is critical in developing our children for the future. Providing proper educational resources for a homeless child’s success post-high school not only benefits the child, but also Ohio. Whether it be a four-year degree or career and technical training, providing a gateway to higher education means obtaining more attractive employment skills in combination with the potential for higher income for the child in their adult life. For Ohio, it’s a win-win situation for all involved.
That is why I have recently introduced the Preparing Homeless Youth for Education and Employment Act along with my colleagues Reps. Derek Kilmer, Steve Stivers, and Seth Moulton. Providing educational counseling for our homeless children is vital in their success after high school. This bill does just that, permitting funding from our federal government’s Education for Homeless Children and Youth program to go towards providing dropout prevention services and college and career counseling to homeless youth.
I am forever thankful for the mentors that guided me growing up, and hope we can begin a path so others may be blessed with those same opportunities.
In our great nation, there are still around 1.26 million homeless children currently enrolled in public school, a number that may surprise you by its size. What’s also troubling for these students, though, is the lack of access to counseling and mentoring services compared to other students. According to the American School Counselors Association, the standard for student-to-counselor ratio should be 250:1; unfortunately that ratio has ballooned to about one for every thousand students for low-income schools that teach many of these homeless students.
Addressing the shortage of guidance services to homeless students is critical in developing our children for the future. Providing proper educational resources for a homeless child’s success post-high school not only benefits the child, but also Ohio. Whether it be a four-year degree or career and technical training, providing a gateway to higher education means obtaining more attractive employment skills in combination with the potential for higher income for the child in their adult life. For Ohio, it’s a win-win situation for all involved.
That is why I have recently introduced the Preparing Homeless Youth for Education and Employment Act along with my colleagues Reps. Derek Kilmer, Steve Stivers, and Seth Moulton. Providing educational counseling for our homeless children is vital in their success after high school. This bill does just that, permitting funding from our federal government’s Education for Homeless Children and Youth program to go towards providing dropout prevention services and college and career counseling to homeless youth.
I am forever thankful for the mentors that guided me growing up, and hope we can begin a path so others may be blessed with those same opportunities.
