Dr. John Palladino’s writings and research encompass everything from social work and special education to educational and ethical leadership, though the subject that seems truest to his heart concerns foster care children and their uniquely special needs.

The idea for one of his latest contributions “resulted from my observation of the overlay between the educational needs of youth in foster care and homeless youth,” he explained. “[This was] a contribution to the literature that has otherwise not existed.”

The research project involved high school administrators “and their perceptions of collaborating with homeless mothers on behalf of their children who warranted special education courses,” following the mandates of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act of 2002.

The Act “ensures educational rights and protections for children and youth experiencing homelessness,” homelessness including those in transitional home situations, living in substandard housing, shelters, hotels, or cars, to children left alone in hospitals. The Act also has provisions for such things as transportation to school.

Palladino discovered that “the administrators who participated in the study were most committed to the transportation requirement, but encountered numerous financial challenges. Specifically, federal funding available to districts was not made available in a timely manner, causing the administrators to find creative internal borrowing opportunities. The practice highlighted the need for administrative savvy in order to access transportation.”

He continued, “The administrators were also most committed to the educational needs of the homeless children enrolled in their schools. They expressed extreme frustration with human service providers who made decisions that countered the administrators’ quest to secure educational stability. For example, many homeless shelter programs moved mothers and their children at times that often did not correlate with school calendars. As a result, children transferred to new schools mid-year and mid-semester, further jeopardizing streamlined school services.”

The study lasted for a year and contrasted rural and urban regions, those of Nebraska and Michigan respectively. The study also collected and compared data from elementary, middle, secondary, and central office environments.

“I was able to note similar educational stability risk factors present among homeless populations, similar to youth in foster care,” he said, “But I found that homeless youth have federal legislation that, in theory, provides more concrete protections.”

Palladino concluded, “The protections, however, are not easy to implement and that administrative buy-in and commitment are crucial…. [Although] veteran administrators were more likely to somewhat bend the rules in order to secure homeless youth’s educational services.”

The book is available in Halle Library:

Ethnographic and Qualitative Research in Education, editors, Patricia Brewer and Michael Firmin. Contributor, John M. Palladino, “Chapter 10: A Qualitative Inquiry of School Administrators’ Insights about Collaborations with Homeless Mothers of Youth with Disabilities” (pp. 135-45). Cambridge Scholars Press, 2006.