Tag Archives: Education

Educational Experiences of Youth with Disabilities in Foster Care

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Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare: 2nd in a series of policy briefs. Youth with disabilities are overrepresented in the population of youth in the child welfare system. It is well documented that young people in foster care are at a disadvantage in their educational experiences, due both to their past experiences with physical and emotional trauma, as well as to challenges in both the child welfare and educational systems. Placement changes lead to high rates of academic mobility, which leads to disruption in the school routine and relationships with teachers, other students, and school personnel. This Policy Brief describes three issues and offers solutions with references to relevant studies.

●   Isolation in Special Education Settings for Youth with Disabilities in Foster Care

●   Education Mobility & Attendance

●   Graduation and Drop-Out Rates

Link to pdf Policy Brief

The Texas Blueprint: Transforming Education Outcomes for Children and Youth in Foster Care.

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In 2010, the Supreme Court of Texas issued an Order Establishing the Education Committee of the Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families (Children’s Commission). This order was the Texas response to mandates in the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. The Education Committee collaborated to create recommendations to improve educational outcomes of children and youth in foster care. The recommendations fell into eight categories:

  • Judicial Practices
  • Data and Information Sharing
  • Multi-Disciplinary Training
  • School Readiness
  • School Stability and Transitions
  • School Experience, Supports, and Advocacy
  • Post-Secondary Education
  • Future Collaboration

Link to Recommendations

Refugee Portal: Bridging Refugee Youth and Children’s Services (BRYCS)

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Refugee Portal: Bridging Refugee Youth and Children’s Services: BRYCS created this portal to ensure that refugees have easy access to multilingual resources. The languages include: Arabic, Burmese, Karen, Nepali, Somali and Spanish. Refugees may click on their language for resources on the topics of family life and parenting, early childhood, the U.S. school system (K-12), children’s books, and health/mental health. English versions of the materials are also available. Link to Portal

Complying With the Fostering Connections Act and Solutions to Address Agency Challenges

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The National Resource Center for Child Welfare Data and   Technology’s (NRCCWDT’s) issue brief series provides comprehensive technical   assistance to States and Tribes on a variety of topics. Two new issues of   Tips, Tools, and Trends address the use of data to meet provisions in the   Federal Fostering Connections legislation and selecting solutions to   adequately address agency challenges.

“Data Considerations for Fostering Connections”   is available here:

http://www.nrccwdt.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Fostering-Connections-TTT.pdf   (550 KB)

“Picking Solutions That Work” is available here:

http://www.nrccwdt.org/2012/04/tips-tools-and-trends-picking-solutions-that-work/   (608 KB)

Bringing Families Together: Models of Hope and Recovery

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The National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW) produced a DVD to help States, Tribes, and communities strengthen linkages among child welfare, mental health, substance abuse treatment, and court systems. The DVD features the NCSACW’s 10-Element Framework: Elements of System Linkages and demonstrates strategies for increased multidisciplinary collaboration to better serve children, youth, and families across systems. Bringing Families Together: Models of Hope and Recovery is available for desktop or mobile download on the NCSACW website: http://www.ncsacw.samhsa.gov/improving/improving-video.aspx

Meeting the Educational Needs of Students in the Child Welfare System: Lessons Learned from the Field

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July 2012, Advocates for Children of New York: Over the last decade, child welfare agencies and advocates have begun to recognize that the students they serve need access to greater educational opportunities, and that education is critically important to child wellbeing, permanency planning and a successful transition to adulthood. In particular, best practices research has consistently identified education advocacy as an effective strategy to improve school stability and educational outcomes for this population of vulnerable youth. This report offers insights from one program, called Project Achieve, which pairs Advocates for Children of New York (“AFC”), a non-profit that provides education advocacy to low-income students in New York City, with local foster care and preventive services agencies. The report explains how Project Achieve works and examines its long-term impact on the children and families served by these agencies, the people who work there and the city’s child welfare system itself. Link to Report