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Deb Foust is a lead area homeless liaison. She helps schools across over a dozen northern Illinois counties identify and provide resources to families according to the McKinney-Vento Act, which guarantees the right to education for homeless students.
“I don t know if I believe we ve got less kids, I just think things are falling through the cracks,” she said.
Last year, Foust says they identified close to 4,000 homeless students in her state designated area. This year, they’ve identified 1,500 fewer students the majority from Rockford Public Schools. If they don’t get identified, they may not know they have the right to education.