Problems/Issues Conditions Strategies

35% of youth aging out repeated a grade4

Students in care where 1.2 times more likely to be retained than other students in schools with similar demographic back-grounds.4

10-15% of youth aging out failed at least one of their classes 4

Absenteeism/tardy rate for youth in care is twice as high as average

69% of youth aging out received out of school suspension/;18% had been expelled.4

57.3% of alumni received diploma; 28.5% obtained GED 1

50% of youth aging out hope or expect to graduate college 4

1 in 10 15-year olds dropped out of school because of incarceration.4

40% of children who dropped out of school before 16 had run away at least once between the time of turning 13 and dropping out.4

2.5% of alumni (ages 25-25) hold bachelors or higher (vs. national avg. of 28%) 1

D i s p r o p o r t I o n a l i t y

Lack of school stability

Prevent school transfer

Ease school transfer

•Prevent cw placement/transfer1, 14

•Encourage keeping children in same school even if placement changes1, 3, 7, 10, 14, 13

•Target foster care recruitment within community to minimize school transfers14, 13

•Provide transportation to school7,12

•Improve documentation 3,4, 10, 14, 13

•Increase record sharing- address confidentiality (e.g. passport)10, 11, 14, 13

•Don’t penalize absences related to placement 4, 7

•Encourage school transfers to take place between semesters or school years•Expedite enrollment 7, 8

•Find ways for social workers to concentrate their work as much as possible to certain schools 4

K-12 Education for Children in Foster Care

Lack of (academic) skill building

Lack of social support/access to other services/ inappropriate identification of needs (esp. special education); disproportionate suspension/expulsion

•Provide tutoring16, 13

•Create intensive school programs16,13

•Utilize other academic help (e.g., from community based organizations)16,13

•Raise expectations of teachers, foster parents, case workers13

•Mentor16

•Ensure appropriate special ed7,8,15

•Ensure access for other services (e.g., health, MH, IL, vocational, college prep, etc.)14,16, 13

Children and youth in care have a median of 3-4 child welfare placements which often lead to school changes. 14

65% of foster care alumni experience 7 or more school changes from elementary to hs.1

2/3rds students entering foster care; 28% of those in care for more than 2 years, and 20-25% of those exiting care change schools (general rate = 12%) 4

By 4th grade, mobile students are avg. of 4 months behind stable classmates, by 6th grade they are as much as 1 year behind. 2

Changing schools during high school diminishes the chances for graduation. 3

Children who have 3 or more child welfare placements are more likely to be classified with ED.15

It takes 4-6 months for a child to recover academically after changing schools14

Teens in foster care are less likely to be in college prep classes, even with similar test scores and grades 6

½ of 3rd-8th graders in out of home care scored in the bottom quartile on standardized testing. 4

Controlling for age, a study found that students in care are almost 1 1/5th years behind other students.4

Gaps in reading achievement are not made up if children remain in care.4

Students in foster care are concentrated in under-performing schools 4

Cross-cutting Strategies• Advocacy (and liaisons) 4,

14, 16,7, 8, 13

• Training/awareness and knowledge building (workers, school, judges, children) 12, 10, 14, 7, 13

• Addressing areas of disproportionality14,13

• Changing legislation and policies7, 13

• Collaboration among systems (including comm.. and info sharing) 4, 7, 8, 10, 11,14, 16, 13

• Constituency engagement ( at both systems and family level)3, 8, 10, 14, 16,13

• Include education planning within 72 hours of placement7, 13

• Make clear who has primary responsibility for child’s academic progress4,7

• Black, Latino, or Native American students are less likely to succeed in school14

• There is a strong association between race and ethnicity and the likelihood of dropping out of school14

• One study found that by 9th grade, African American males in foster care had significantly lower scores than all comparison groups14

28% of children in foster care or living with relatives have physical, learning or mental health conditions that limit their activities. 9

6-8th graders in out of home care are 3.5 times as likely to classified as learning disabled. (45% vs. 16% in general pop)4

20% of students in care (vs. 1-2% general rate) are classified as having an emotional/behavior disorder.4

28% of 6-17 year olds in child welfare arrangements were not involved in any extracurricular activities. 9

Problems/Issues Conditions Strategies

Students in care are more likely to:

Be tardy/absent

Fail class

Repeat grade

Be suspended or expelled

Drop out

• Drop out because of incarceration

• Run away and then drop out

Receive a GED vs. a diploma

Not get a degree or vocational certificate

Have increased risk of poor well-being outcomes (poverty, low employment, no insurance, homelessness, etc.)

D i s p r o p o r t I o n a l i t y

Lack of school stabilityPrevent school transfer

Ease school transfer

•Prevent cw placement/transfer•Encourage keeping children in same school even if placement changes•Target foster care recruitment within community to minimize school transfers•Provide transportation to school

•Improve documentation •Increase record sharing- address confidentiality (e.g. passport)•Don’t penalize absences related to placement •Encourage school transfers to take place between semesters or school years•Expedite enrollment •Find ways for social workers to concentrate their work as much as possible to certain schools

K-12 Education for Children in Foster Care: Potential BSC Focus

Lack of (academic) skill building

Lack of social support/access to other services/ inappropriate identification of needs (esp. special education); disproportionate suspension/expulsion

•Provide tutoring•Create intensive school programs•Utilize other academic help (e.g., from community based organizations)16,13

•Raise expectations of teachers, foster parents, case workers•Mentor•Ensure appropriate special ed•Ensure access for other services (e.g., health, MH, IL, vocational, college prep, etc.)

Students in care have significantly higher likelihood to change schools and change schools multiple times

School mobility, particularly during the active school year hurts children’s ability for academic success and reduces the chance for graduation.

School mobility can increase the chances that a child will be classified with emotional disturbances

Students in foster careAre less likely to be in college prep classes

Are more likely to score low on standardized tests

Are significantly behind academically

Once fallen behind other students, are likely to stay behind

Are concentrated in under-performing schools

Students in foster careAre more likely to have physical, learning or mental

health conditions that limit their activities, which may also diminish their chances at school success without adequate support and services.

Students in foster care are more likely to be identified as needing special education services, but studies suggest that classifications may be under representative, and wrong (particularly true for males of color)

Are less likely to be involved in extracurricular activities.

Cross-cutting Strategies

• Advocacy (and liaisons) • Training/awareness and

knowledge building (workers, school, judges, children)

• Addressing areas of disproportionality

• Changing legislation and policies

• Collaboration among systems (including comm. and info sharing)

• Constituency engagement ( at both systems and family level)

• Include education planning within 72 hours of placement

• Make clear who has primary responsibility for child’s academic progress

• Youth of color who are in care are less likely to succeed in school

• There is a strong association between race and ethnicity and the likelihood of dropping out of school

• African American males in foster care have poorer educational outcomes than any other group

Work Cited

1. Pecora, P.; Kessler, R., Williams, J., O’Brien, K., Downs, C., English, D., White, J. Hiripi, E., White, C., Wiggins, T, & Holmes, K. (2005). Improving family foster care: Findings from the Northwest foster care alumni study. Seattle, WA: Casey Family Programs.

2. Jacobson, L. (2001). Moving targets. Education Week, 20(29), 32-34

3. Rumberger, R.W., Larson, K.A., Ream, R.K., & Palardy, G.J. (1999) The educational consequences of mobility for California students and schools. Berkeley, CA: Policy Analysis for California Education ED 441040

4. Smithgall, C., Gladden, R., Howard, E., Goerge, R., & Courtney, M. (2004). Educational experiences of children in out-of-home-care. Chicago IL: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago

5. Eckenrode, J., Laird, M., & Doris, J. (1993). School performance and disciplinary problems among abused and neglected children. Developmental Psychology, 29(1), 53-62.

6. Bloome, W. (1997) What happens to foster kids: educational experiences of a random sample of foster care youth and a matched group of nonfoster care youth. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal 14:41-53.

7. Christian, S. (2005) Educating children in foster care. Denver, CO: National Conference of State Legislatures found at: www.ncsl.org/programs/cyf/CPIeducate.htm

8. Finkelstein, M., Wamsley, M., Miranda, D. (2002) What keeps children in foster care from succeeding in school? Views of early adolescents and the adults in their lives. NY: Vera Institute of Justice

9. Kortenkamp, K., & Ehrle, J. (2002) The well-being of Children Involved with the Child Welfare System: A National Overview. New federalism national survey of America’s families. B-43. Washington DC: The Urban Institute.

10. Schwartz, W. (1999) School support for foster families. ERIC Digest. NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education (ED434189)

11. McNaught, K. (2003) Education law primer for child welfare professionals (Part One). Child Law Practice. 22(1) Washington, DC: American Bar Association. www.abanet.org/child

12. Varlas, L. (2002) Slowing the revolving door. Education Update 44(7) Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development www.ascd.org

13. Casey Family Programs. (2004) A road map for learning: Improving educational outcomes in foster care. Seattle, WA: Author

14. Yu,E. Day, P., & Williams, M. (2002) Improving educational outcomes for youth In care: A national collaboration (background paper). Washington, DC: CWLA Press

15. Smithgall, C., Gladden, R., Yang, D., & Goerge, R. (2005). Behavior problems and educational disruptions among children in out home care in Chicago, working paper. Chicago, IL: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago

16. Levine, P. (1999) Education attainment and outcomes for children and youth served by the foster care system, A review of the literature. Seattle, WA: Casey Family Programs