Ludlow Public Schools

DCF Foster Care

Each district must identify a DCF Foster Care Point of Contact (FCPOC). This individual works with DCF to ensure educational stability for students in foster care. The FCPOC collaborates with DCF to ensure timely enrollment and services for students in foster care. The FCPOC also coordinates access to educational records and offers guidance to school and district staff regarding systems for managing student information.

Identifying and enrolling students who are in foster care starts with the facilitation of a Best Interest Determination (BID). Best Interest refers to making student-centered decisions and what works best for a student in foster care. BIDs are enrollment discussions between DCF and the school district that are based on what is best for the student.

If it is determined to be in a student’s best interest to attend school locally (where placed in foster care), the student is entitled to immediate enrollment. This means that the student must be enrolled without delay.

Homelessness & McKinney-Vento

The McKinney-Vento Liaison is a designated person within the school district who ensures that students experiencing homelessness receive the support needed to enroll in school and gain access to the services that they need. This may include assisting with enrollment, providing information to families, and providing support and guidance to district and school staff regarding the rights of students who are experiencing homelessness. 

Homelessness is defined as lacking fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes:

• Living in shelters
• Living in campgrounds, parks, cars, public buildings, hotels
• Sharing the housing of others due to economic  hardship, loss of housing, or similar reason (this means there was a triggering event that caused loss of housing)
• And migrant students living in any of these arrangements,  unaccompanied homeless youth, and preschoolers

Students who are homeless are entitled to immediate enrollment without delay.