Some Kansas lawmakers say police are not doing enough to address crime stemming from homelessness — but advocates say making more arrests won't do anything to help. Plus: Rural Midwest school districts don't have enough funding to fulfill their promises to educate homeless students.
Some Republican state lawmakers in Kansas want communities struggling with homelessness to use law enforcement to address the issue. But as Dylan Lysen of the Kansas News Service reports, arresting people experiencing homelessness for minor crimes does not solve the problem. And it may make things worse.
Missouri had nearly 33,000 unhoused students eligible for support under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, while Kansas had nearly 6,700. As Nebraska Public Media’s Jolie Peal reports for the Midwest Newsroom, some rural districts are collaborating with their communities to help outside of the classroom.
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