Education Advocacy:
Preparing Youth in Care for High
School Graduation, College and
Careers
Welcome and Introductions
Legal Center FCE

Collaboration between ABA and Casey Family Programs, in
conjunction with the Juvenile Law Center and Education Law
Center, with funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and
the Stuart Foundation

A national technical assistance resource and information
clearinghouse on legal and policy matters affecting the
education of children and youth in out-of-home care

Website: www.abanet.org/child/education
 Listserv, Conference Calls, Publications, Searchable
Database, Fostering Connections
Agenda
 Background
 Focus on advocacy – advocate may be from
child welfare, education, courts, or outside
agency
 Consideration of student-level practices, and
system-level policies.
 Goal – for participants to identify at least one
idea they will take to their jurisdiction.
Academic challenges
Foster Care Alumni Studies: Education Outcomes
Students in
foster care
General
student
population
70% of former
foster youth
express a desire to
attend college
•www.cwla.org
^ Casey Northwest Alumni
Study
Promising data
 Youth who experience even one fewer
placement change per year are almost twice as
likely to graduate from high school before leaving
care
 The odds of graduating from high school were
almost 3 times higher for youth in foster care who
participated in a mentoring program than their
peers
 Odds of graduating from high school were twice
as high if they had experienced 6 or fewer
school changes than if they had experienced 10
or more
**Education is the Lifeline for Youth in Foster Care
Rank Your Priorities










Improve School Stability
Ensure Immediate Enrollment
Provide Mentoring and other Adult support
Improve Access to Services (special ed,
remediation)
Prioritize Access to Early Childhood Education
Engage Youth in Leadership Opportunities
Support Post-Secondary Education
Improve Responses to Discipline and Truancy
Address Discrimination
Engage Caregivers
Benefits of Partnership
 Improve student performance
 Improve graduation rates and decrease
dropout rates
 Increase college and career readiness
 Turn around our lowest performing
schools
 Enhanced permanency
 Improve life outcomes for youth
The Pennsylvania Experience
Advocacy to Improve
Educational Outcomes for
Youth in Care
Pennsylvania
Child Welfare Bulletin on Education
 Single point of contact
 Overview of relevant education rights
 Requirement of collaboration
 Caseworker to conduct education screen
for youth in-home and out-of-home
Pennsylvania
Education Screen for Caseworkers
 Caseworkers ensure that they have
addressed:







Records
Stability/Enrollment
Special School Settings
Progress Toward Graduation
Preparation for Post-Secondary Education
Special Education
Disability Accommodation
 Tool provides information about relevant
laws and steps to take
Pennsylvania
Tool for Educators
 Provides background about youth in care.
 Suggests steps to ensure their success,
including:







Tips for engaging the child in school
Communication with the child’s decision-maker
Keeping education records up-to-date.
Helping the student avoid education disruptions.
Ensuring that the student has needed support and
guidance
Addressing the student’s behavioral health needs
Planning for graduation and post-secondary
education
Pennsylvania
Rules for Juvenile Court Judges
 School stability
 Appropriate education
 Remedial education
 Special education

Disabilities accommodation

Education decision-maker
Foster Youth Education in
California
Foster Youth Services
Program
CA Education Code Sections 4292042925
2011-12 CA State Budget
 Appropriated approximately $15 million for
educational services to foster youth
 Includes programs for 6 core programs, 57
countywide programs, and 28 juvenile
detention programs (2010-11)
 Services to an estimated 25,000 foster youth
CA Education Code Section
42921
 FYS programs may provide services to foster
children who reside in “licensed foster
homes” or county-operated juvenile
detention facilities.
 “Licensed foster homes” include:




Licensed foster family homes
Certified foster family agency homes
Court-specified homes
Licensed care institutions (group homes)
Foster Youth Services (FYS)
 Legislative intent is that FY with the
greatest need for services be first priority.
 FYS Programs may prescribe the
methodology for determining which foster
youth (FY) to serve.
 Methodologies for determining FY to serve
may include, but aren’t limited to, the
following:
 Specific age groups
 Specific geographic areas
 FY with greatest academic need
FYS Program Services
Each FYS Program shall include guiding principles that
establish a hierarchy of services in the following order:
Provide or arrange for referral to 1. Tutoring
2. Services that meet local needs identified through
collaborative relationships and local advisory groups,
including but not limited to:




Mentoring
Counseling
Transitioning services
Emancipation services
Program Services (Continued)
3. Facilitating timely Individual Education
Programs
4. Establishing collaborative relationships
and local advisory groups
5. Expediting transfer of health and
education records
Planning and Implementation
 FYS Programs shall have at least one
FY Education Services Coordinator.
 Programs to develop plans that
identify methodology for determining
FY to serve, guiding principles, and
hierarchy of services.
 Programs must utilize community and
advisory groups.
Coordinator Responsibilities
1. Work with the child welfare agency to
minimize changes in school placement.
2. Facilitate prompt transfer of educational
records (including the health and
education passport) when educational
placement changes are made.
3. Provide education-related information to
the child welfare agency to assist in the
delivery of services to FY.
Coordinator Responsibilities
(Continued)
4. Respond to requests from the juvenile
court to ensure delivery and coordination of
educational services.
5. Share information with the foster care
provider regarding available training
programs that address FY educational
issues.
6. Refer caregivers of FY who have special
education needs to special education
programs and services.
Coordinator Responsibilities
(Continued)
7. Work to obtain, identify, and link children
to mentoring, tutoring, vocational training,
and other services.
8. Facilitate communication between the
foster care provider, the teacher, and any
other school staff or education service
providers.
AB 490 Educational Liaison
for Foster Youth
County offices of education and school districts
must have an educational liaison for foster
students who will:
 Ensure checkout from school and proper school placement
(responsibility shared with placing agency)
 Ensure IMMEDIATE enrollment of foster youth, even
without academic or medical records, immunization
records, proof of residency, school uniform, or
fees/materials owed to prior school
 Assist with timely transfer of grades, credits, and records
when students transfer schools
 Complete school transfers within two business days
EC 48853.5
Treehouse Educational
Advocacy Program (WA State)
Treehouse
Educational Advocacy Program
 Created in King County in 2001 (originally
privately funded)
 Currently, 17 Advocates co-located in CA
offices
 Referrals made by CA social worker/screener
 Eligibility: out-of-home care, PreK – 12th
grade, serves all 295 school districts
Treehouse Educational
Advocacy Program (Continued)
Funding:
 2001 through 2005: privately funded, King County
only (greater Seattle area), 300 youth served at
peak, $150,000 program
 2006: start of funding by WA State Children’s
Administration, statewide coverage, 1,000 youth
served in the first year, $650,000 program year one
 2010 through present: funding 2/3 by WA State
Children’s Admin (20% of which are federal Title IVE
funds) and 1/3 by Treehouse, 1,400 youth served in
2011, $1.1 million program
Treehouse Educational
Advocacy Program (Continued)
Levels of Service:
 Direct Advocacy: cases requiring intensive,
Advocate-led interventions, approximate length
of 9 months
 Consultation: cases where Advocate can
coach, guide and provide behind-the-scenes
support , approximate length of 7 months
 Information and Referrals: brief, one-
time dispensing of policy, practice or strategy
information which allows the sw or cg to provide
the advocacy, 30 minutes average,
over 1,200 I & R’s annually
Treehouse Educational
Advocacy Program (Continued)
Four Primary Outcomes:
 Increase and Improve Access to School Services and
Programs
 Reduce School Changes and Speed Enrollment
 Decrease Disciplinary Referrals
 Academic Progress is made – students progress to the
next grade and graduate
Increase and Improve Access to
School Services and Programs
 278 students with Individual Education Plans
received improved services to better fit their needs
 Advocates referred 215 youth for school
evaluations.
 102 students qualified for Special Education or 504
and 69 evaluations are still in process
 Of the 44 who did not qualify for Special Education or
504, 36 have been connected with specialized services
to improve their success, i.e tutoring, mentoring
Reduce School Changes and
Expedite Enrollment

200 students experienced 244 placement changes. 61
stayed in their original schools, more than half of these youth
missing no school in the transition. 146 students enrolled in
a new school, 55% enrolled within 3 days and an additional
26% enrolled within one week

195 children were enrolled in school who were previously not
enrolled and not attending. 96 students transitioned to a
more effective school program, thus engaging them in
continued education

Much of the school stability work is undertaken by social
workers after trainings by the advocates, as evidenced by
the high number of Information & Referrals which focus on
enrollment issues: 212 in the last year
Decrease Disciplinary Referrals
 Advocates were able to dismiss or reduce
73% of expulsions and 62% of long term
suspensions
 109 Students facing long term suspension
and expulsions were reinstated in school
more quickly
Academic Progress is made –
students progress to the next grade
and graduate
 90% of high school seniors served by Educational
Advocates received a high school diploma,
completed a GED program, or are still engaged in
high school completion services
 74% of high school youth who entered this
program behind in credits, were actively making up
credits by the end of the year
 Of the youth in grades Pre K – 8th, 95% (n=260)
are moving on to the next grade
Ed. Advocacy Training Program
 Funded by the Stuart Foundation, begun in 2008
 Peer Trainer model, trained over 3,000 adults since 2008
 Provide trainings at statewide conferences, regional
caregiver groups, etc.
Modules
•General Advocacy
•Early Learning
•Post-Secondary
•Special Topics
•Youth Self-Advocacy
(2011)
Audience
•Social
Workers/Professionals
•Foster Parents
•Kinship Caregivers
•Birth and Adoptive Parents
Connected By 25 (Florida)
Hillsborough County,
Florida
Systemic Change
 Public/Private Partnership: Established 2005
 Privately Fund Innovation/Change: [Often
Easier to Move Systems]
Embed the Change into the System
Focus: Economic Success
[Assets: Bring Youth out of Poverty]
Hillsborough County,
Florida
Florida Department of Children & Families
Community Based Care Model
Hillsborough Kids Inc.
Hillsborough County Sheriff
[Child Welfare Agency]
[Abuse/Neglect Investigations]
Legal: Department of Children & Families
Dependency/Delinquency [Cross-System Court Project]
for Teens in Foster Care
Florida Statutes Require Comprehensive Education
Planning
Hillsborough County,
Florida
Youth age 16-21
2005: 600*
Hillsborough County Child
Welfare Agency
 [Dependency] Case
Manager
 Foster Care Provider
 [Independent Living]
 Ages 13-23
 Life Skills
 Transition
2010: 480*
Hillsborough County School
District
Guidance Counselor
on
Special Assignment For
Youth In Foster Care
 Grades 6-8
 Grades 9-12
# of People/Providers Attached to Youth
Other Attached [Other Services]
Hillsborough County,
Florida
ASK THE YOUTH!!!!
Self Report Survey & Meetings:
 10X the Drop-Out Rate: Unaccompanied youth at age 18
faced barriers registering for High School
 Guidance Counselor: One Point of Contact WITHIN the System
 Court to address Education Services/Juvenile Justice
 Free Tuition to State Post Secondary School/Program
[Low Graduation Rate] Targeted Staff/Post Secondary
Services
 Flexible private dollars: Reach for the Stars, Guidance
Counselor Funds
 Opportunity Passport™ Matched Savings – IDA Account
Hillsborough County,
Florida
[ 2007] Tutoring Program: Youth age 16 – 23 [Reading and/or
Math below a 6th grade level] or Not Attending
 Grew into an On-Site Education Program [ Youth Apply for
Admission]
Adult Basic Education [ Prepare for GED]
Success if the youth connects to a GED program in the
community
 Complete GED on-site:
 Non-Traditional Hours
 Meals On-Site
 Transportation
 [Learning Events] not usually found in “Adult Programs”
 Credit Recovery
Hillsborough County,
Florida
ABE [Below 6th grade level on TABE]
 50% of students: Math
 88% of students: Reading
 80% of students: Language
Completing your GED is a MILESTONE: [Defining of the PAST]
 Cap/Gown
 Graduation with School System
 42% Graduation Rate
 Partner with [Guidance Counselor & Child Welfare ILS Staff] –
Transition to Post Secondary /On-Going Support
Hillsborough County,
Florida
Florida Statutes Require Comprehensive Education
Planning
Practice Challenge:
Align the focus of EDUCATION with the School System
 Current Focus: Align with Judicial Review