Improving Education Outcomes for Court- Involved Youth

Jessica FeiermanJessica Feierman

April 10, 2015April 10, 2015

Website: www.fostercareandeducation.org

What Every Child Needs

Instability

School Instability

EDUCATION OUTCOMES FOR YOUTH IN CARE

Is the deck stacked against our youth?

EDUCATION OUTCOMES FOR YOUTH IN CARE

Less than 50%

of high school students in care graduate

EDUCATION OUTCOMES FOR YOUTH IN CARE

EDUCATION OUTCOMES FOR YOUTH IN CARE

College Graduation Rate

EDUCATION OUTCOMES FOR YOUTH IN CARE

“youth in foster care are 2.5 [to]

3.5 [times] more likely to be receiving special education services than their non

foster care peers.” *

*National Working Group on Foster Care and Education, Education is the Lifeline for Youth in Care.

Making a ChangeEducation was one of the few stabilities I had in my life. My hope would be that a family would fill that role, but for me, it was education. That was the greatest gift. Everything else was taken away from me, but education wasn’t.... It made the difference.

NCSL and Excal Consulting Partners LLC. (March 2008)

Stuart Foundation Video: It Gets Awesome

https://vimeo.com/user9020769/review/51964222/953311af7d

%22

IMPROVING EDUCATION OUTCOMES

Youth in care who are connected to mentors are

as likely to graduate than those who are not3x

IMPROVING EDUCATION OUTCOMES

Youth who stay in the same placement and school are

more likely to graduate 50%

IMPROVING EDUCATION EDUCATION OUTCOMES

Students who receive SIX months of

one-on-one tutoring

have a

1.7 grade level increase in reading

Blueprint for Change: Education Success for Children in Foster Care

8 Goals for Youth

Benchmarks for each goal indicating progress toward achieving education success

National, State, and Local Examples

Goal 1: Remain in the Same School

Innovative Examples:

GIS Mapping

School-Based Foster Family Recruitment

Interagency Transportation Agreements

Court Rules

Goal 2: Seamless TransitionsInnovative Example:

Education Dashboards

Specially Trained Liaisons

Caseworker Role Specified

Goal 3: Young Children Ready to Learn

Prioritize young children in care for Head Start and other early learning programs

Assess young children in care for early intervention

Identify appropriate providers

Goal 4: Equal Access Involvement in extra-curricular activities

Access to academic programs – including gifted and talented

special education

career and technical education

Goal 5: Address Dropout, Truancy, and Discipline

Compassionate Schools

Trauma-Informed Schools

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

Goal 6: Involving and Empowering Youth

Youth involved in court

Youth plan early and often

Youth at education meetings with supportive adults

Goal 7: Supportive Adults as Advocates and Decision-makers

Mentors

Education Decision-Makers Special Education General Education

Advocates

Parents

Foster parents

Liaisons

Teachers

Goal 8: Obtaining Postsecondary Education

Higher Education Liaisons

Transition Planning Special and General Education Needs Post-Secondary Counseling College Tours Help with applications and FAFSA Prioritizing youth in care in college prep programs

Tuition Support and Fee Waivers

Campus Housing During Breaks

Campus Support Programs

Resources:

Legal Center Database

Conclusion

Contact

Jessica FeiermanJuvenile Law Center

1315 Walnut Street, Suite 400Philadelphia, PA 19107(215) 625-0551 ext 116

jfeierman@jlc.org

Legal Center for Foster Care and Educationccleducation@americanbar.org

http://www.fostercareandeducation.org/