Highly Mobile Youth - How State Policy and Local Implementation Can Work Together to Support Youth

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Bintang

Highly mobile youth (HMY)—including students experiencing homelessness, foster care, migrant mobility, and/or juvenile justice involvement—face disruptions that weaken educational continuity and well-being. The report studies two state approaches: Colorado’s local-first, state-supported model and Washington’s policy-driven, centralized model. It identifies common themes across states and derives priorities for state leaders on cross-sector alignment, collaboration structures, data and terminology foundations, trust-building, youth voice, and protections for migrant and justice-involved youth.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages47

Reading Time1 h 58 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Glossary of Terms

Introduction

Methods

Research Questions

Data Sources and Analysis

Colorado

Background

Effective Practices

Challenges

Washington

Background

Effective Practices

Challenges

Cross-State Synthesis

Similarities

Differences

Lessons Learned

Recommendations

Limitations

Conclusion

References

Appendix A: Information About Interview Participants

Appendix B: Interview Coding

Appendix C: Policy Analysis

Appendix D: HMY Student Demographics and Educational Outcomes

Highly Mobile Youth: How State Policy and Local Implementation Can Work Together to Support Youth Hope Harrington Jason Willis WestEd Joseph P. Bishop, Ph.D. Mayra Cazares-Minero, Ph.D. UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools Table of Contents ii Acknowledgments 01 Executive Summary 02 Glossary of Terms 04 Introduction 07 Methods • Research Questions • Data Sources and Analysis 08 Colorado • Background • Effective Practices • Challenges 16 Washington • Background • Effective Practices • Challenges 23 Cross-State Synthesis • Similarities • Differences 28 Lessons Learned 30 Recommendations 34 Limitations 35 Conclusion 36 References 39 Appendix A: Information About Interview Participants 39 Appendix B: Interview Coding 40 Appendix C: Policy Analysis 43 Appendix D: HMY Student Demographics and Educational Outcomes Acknowledgments This joint research brief was produced with the generous support of The Fund for Education Success (FES), a collaboration between the Raikes Foundation, the Stuart Foundation, and the Walter S. Johnson Foundation. It was designed and edited by Geneva Sum, Communications Director for the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools (CTS). The authors also thank Peggy Carlson, Tomas Mejia, Paula Gumina, Dana Scott, and Jamie Burciaga for their review and feedback on the research. This report benefited from the insights of Alexia Everett, Senior Manager of Partnerships for the Stuart Foundation. Suggested Citation: Harrington, H., Willis, J., Bishop, J. P. & Cazares-Minero, M. (2026) . Highly mobile youth: How state policy and local implementation can work together to support youth. WestEd; Center for the Transformation of Schools, School of Education & Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles. Executive Summary Highly mobile youth (HMY)—students experiencing homelessness, foster care, migrant mobility, and/or juvenile justice involvement—face disruptions that undermine educational continuity and well-being. States play a pivotal role in coordinating systems across different sectors to address these challenges. This report examines two distinct state models: Colorado’s local-first, state-supported approach and Washington’s policy-driven, centralized model. In Colorado, cross-sector work often emerges from districts and local providers, with state policy scaling successful innovations and providing support through grants, convenings, and research partnerships. Washington, by contrast, advances alignment through legislation and state-led workgroups, with strong nonprofit advocacy shaping policy and system integration. Despite different entry points, both states highlight common themes: • Youth in foster care and those experiencing homelessness are consistently prioritized, while youth classified as migrant and those involved with the justice system remain less reliably supported. • Direct service providers play indispensable roles as connectors between youth needs and policy. • Sustainable cross-sector collaboration requires both institutionalized structures and individual leadership. From these findings, several priorities for state leaders emerge: • Align state-level policy while allowing local flexibility. • Formalize cross-agency collaboration. • Strengthen data and terminology foundations. • Build trust in systems. • Elevate youth voice in decision-making. • Strengthen protections for youth classified as migrant and for youth involved with the justice system. Together, these strategies can help states design durable systems that respond to the full spectrum of mobility-related challenges facing HMY. Glossary of Terms Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) Regional cooperative organizations that enable multiple school districts to share educational programs and administrative services—such as special education, professional development, and data management—more

FAQs

What does “highly mobile youth (HMY)” include in this report?

The report uses HMY as an umbrella term covering youth experiencing homelessness, foster care, migrant mobility, and juvenile justice involvement.

How do Colorado and Washington differ in their approaches to supporting HMY?

Colorado emphasizes local-first work scaled by state support through grants, convenings, and research partnerships. Washington emphasizes alignment through legislation and state-led workgroups, with nonprofit advocacy shaping policy and system integration.

What priorities does the report suggest for state leaders?

Priorities include aligning state policy with local flexibility, formalizing cross-agency collaboration, strengthening data and terminology foundations, building trust, elevating youth voice, and strengthening protections for migrant youth and youth involved with the justice system.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Bintang