Pursuing justiceA Juvenile law center Blog
May 16, 2013
To Succeed in School, Foster Youth Need Educational Stability
posted by Juvenile Law Center
Nationally, nearly half of youth in foster care do not complete high school by age 18 (according to this data sheet). Although many youth in foster care long to go to college, they have lower college enrollment and completion rates than their peers who are not in care.
Frequent school moves are a big part of the problem. Children in foster care are often bounced from living placement to living placement, typically changing schools each time—sometimes in the middle of a semester. These school moves disrupt students' academic progress and often lead to delayed re-enrollment, missing records, lost credits, and difficulties maintaining relationships with peers and supportive school staff.
Tags:Child Welfare|Education
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May 14, 2013
Former Foster Youth Participate in Rally to Raise Awareness of Foster Care
posted by Juvenile Law Center
Barbara Huggins and Jimmy Wayne, foster care alumni and advocates for change, participated in a rally in Harrisburg, PA on Monday to raise awareness of the 14,000 children in foster care (including 6,292 ages 13 to 21). Both Barbara and Jimmy found permanency and family as teenagers, which made all the difference. “Having a solid home filled with love … changed every cell [in my body],” Jimmy said.
Tags:Child Welfare
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May 13, 2013
Youth Engagement is Critical to Shaping Child Welfare Laws and Policies That Really Work
posted by Juvenile Law Center
"Nothing about us without us" is an important slogan of foster youth everywhere who work to improve the child welfare system. These youth work hard to ensure that their voices are heard as they plan for their futures and their transitions from foster care.
It is a simple and straightforward message: policies and practices of the child welfare system must be informed by the voices of those most affected by it. Children taken into the child welfare system depend on it for their safety, the meeting of their basic needs, the services their families receive, and opportunities for their futures. Common sense requires that we listen to these youth, who have the most direct knowledge of the system and are most invested in its improvement.
Tags:Child Welfare
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