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District outlines McKinney-Vento supports; community groups describe coordinated homelessness response
Summary
Families-in-Transition staff described McKinney-Vento identification, transportation and services; community partners (Continuum of Care, City clients, Kimberly Center) described outreach, coordinated entry, shelter and trauma services.
Marion County Public Schools staff and community partners described on Aug. 21 how the district identifies and supports students experiencing homelessness under the McKinney-Vento Act and how local agencies coordinate services through a Continuum of Care.
Families in Transition coordinator Thomas Butler told the board that the McKinney-Vento Act protects students who “lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence,” including those doubled up with other families, living in motels, cars, tents or shelters. Butler said the district identified 1,556 students as homeless in 2024–25, and he provided a breakdown: about 102 living in shelters, about 1,007 doubled up with other families, 314 in motels/hotels, and 133 living in cars, tents or abandoned buildings. Butler said 68 identified seniors were in the 2024–25 school year and that 65 of those 68 graduated; 30 of the graduates subsequently enrolled in college.
Butler explained program services: immediate enrollment under McKinney-Vento (students may be enrolled without documents and records obtained later), transportation to a student’s school of origin when appropriate, case management, school supplies and referrals to community services. He said the district pays for items that enable school engagement, such as calculators and graduation fees, and that staff help families obtain identification and birth certificates when needed.
Representatives from the county-city Continuum of Care (COC) outlined coordinated strategies: Roberta Cincati (COC manager) said the COC unites service providers, coordinates planning, and pursues prevention and housing navigation. Robin Ford (City of Ocala deputy director, Office of Homeless Prevention) described the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) used to record services, avoid duplication and prioritize the most vulnerable for rapid rehousing or permanent supportive housing. Ford noted that coordinated entry focuses on the “literally homeless” population (people in cars, encampments or similar unsheltered settings).
Kimberly Center executive director Dawn Westgate described the center’s work as the local children's advocacy center: trauma therapy, multidisciplinary-team staffing for child-abuse investigations, in-class safety curricula and a program that houses children temporarily while they wait for foster-care placements. Westgate said Kimberly Center provided more than 2,000 trauma-therapy sessions last year and reached more than 32,000 students with prevention education.
Board members and staff discussed logistics — including transportation, documentation for college admissions, and limited motel/hotel funding — and suggested pursuing legislative or interagency changes to reduce barriers (for example, to obtaining IDs or birth certificates). Butler and community partners said outreach, partnerships with churches and nonprofits, and targeted casework are central to supporting families and connecting students to longer-term housing solutions.
No board action was recorded; staff and partners said they would continue outreach, coordinated entry and planning work, and that the COC meets monthly.
