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3 TPC Digest The role of the school counselor is vital in addressing the needs of students experiencing homelessness. According to the American School Counselor Association, school counselors promote awareness and understanding of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (the federal legislation that addresses the rights of students experiencing homelessness in schools), advocate for appropriate academic placement and services for students, design programs for students and their families, and collaborate with important stakeholders to provide support where needed. However, despite the importance of these suggested roles, there is limited data on how school counselors actually are supporting the needs of students experiencing homelessness. This study, therefore, provides clarity and fills the gaps in knowledge of how school counselors support students experiencing homelessness in schools. The authors’ survey of 207 school counselors revealed significant relationships between sources of school counselors’ training, number of students experiencing homelessness at counselors’ schools, and counselors’ perceived knowledge and provision of services regarding students experiencing homelessness. Using a national survey to assess counselors’ perceived knowledge and provision of services for students experiencing homelessness, the study revealed relationships between training and number of students experiencing homelessness and counselors’ perceived knowledge and provision of services. Additionally, urban school counselors reported higher numbers of students experiencing homelessness, and elementary school counselors reported more training than counselors in middle and high schools. Descriptive analyses suggested that school counselors may have low levels of knowledge of the McKinney-Vento Act. Further, in-service training and professional development, but not graduate training, were related to school counselors’ knowledge of the McKinney-Vento Act and their advocacy and provision of services for students experiencing homelessness. This study has implications for school counselor training and practice. The lack of training reported by the participants suggests that counselor preparation programs, as well as school districts, must increase professional development for school counselors on issues related to homelessness. Training school counselors to understand the McKinney-Vento Act and the unique needs of students experiencing homelessness will help counselors to build stronger support systems and provide more meaningful interventions. Preparing counselors at the graduate level should include experiential learning in which students are provided real- world learning experiences for working with students experiencing homelessness. Training counselors also should include teaching them to build collaborative partnerships with those both inside and outside the school so that students will have a system of support. School counselors who are trained in such interventions may be more comfortable reaching outside the school and forming relationships with helping partners. This exploratory study provides clear directions for future research. Future research should use a larger sample to explore school counselors’ knowledge about and advocacy for students experiencing homelessness as well as examine additional variables that may influence school counselors’ and other service providers’ advocacy and service provision for students experiencing homelessness. Further, this study suggests a need for future research that examines the efficacy of current school counseling programs for students experiencing homelessness. Stacey Havlik is an Assistant Professor at Villanova University. Julia Bryan is an Assistant Professor at Pennsylvania State University. Correspondence can be addressed to: Stacey Havlik, 800 East Lancaster Avenue SAC 331, Villanova, PA 19085, stacey.gaenzle@villanova.edu . Addressing the Needs of Students Experiencing Homelessness School Counselor Preparation Read full article and references: Havlik, S., & Bryan, J. (2015). Addressing the needs of students experiencing homelessness: School counselor preparation. The Professional Counselor , 5 , 200–216. doi: 10.15241/sh.5.2.200 Stacey Havlik Julia Bryan