National Working Group on Foster Care and Education to Host Briefings for U.S. House, Senate on Helping Foster Youth Succeed in School

“Since I moved around from school district to school district so often, tracking down all of the paperwork was a huge problem. No one knew when I was graduating … if I had known, I could have applied to college.” — from Casey Family Programs' publication "A Roadmap for Learning"

This quote from a former foster youth is an all-too-common example of the obstacles that these kids face—more than 400,000 youth nationwide, in any given year—in achieving school success.

Foster youth are often bounced from living placement to living placement, typically changing schools each time, sometimes in the middle of a semester. In fact, 34% of 17-18-year-olds in foster care have experienced five or more school changes. 

This lack of stability often leads to delayed re-enrollment, missing records, lost credits, and difficulties maintaining relationships with peers and supportive school staff. In addition to these issues, foster youth are more likely than their non-system-involved peers to have experienced abuse, neglect, and separation from family members. As a result, fewer than 50% of foster youth finish high school by age 18, and only 2-9% obtain a bachelor’s degree.

The good news is that we can help improve educational outcomes for youth in foster care by putting strong educational practices and policies in place for foster youth, ensuring that child welfare agencies, education agencies, and the courts are working together.

Next Tuesday, January 28, 2014, in Washington, DC, we will take an important first step in achieving these goals. The National Working Group on Foster Care and Education (of which Juvenile Law Center is a member) will host two briefings for members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives. The briefings will be delivered by education and child welfare experts and a former foster youth.  They will help members of Congress and their staff understand a) the challenges foster youth face in succeeding in school and b) the importance of educational stability.

Juvenile Law Center Supervising Attorney Jessica Feierman will moderate the briefings, which will feature the following experts:

• Anne Marie Ambrose, Commissioner, Philadelphia Department of Human Services
• William Myles, Assistant Superintendent, Cincinnati Public Schools
• Kayla VanDyke, former foster youth and student at Hamline University
• Dianna Walters, Policy Associate, Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative and  representative of the National Working Group on Foster Care and Education

Too many foster youth will continue to lack education stability unless education and child welfare systems work together, at the federal, state, and district levels. By bringing together members of Congress with education and child welfare experts, the National Working Group hopes to raise national awareness about the problem, bridge the gap between these systems,  and encourage policymakers to prioritize educational success for foster youth.  

The National Working Group on Foster Care and Education’s mission is to promote successful educational outcomes for children and youth in foster care across the country. The Working Group is committed to heightening awareness of the educational needs of children and youth in care and to promoting best and promising practices and reforms across the education, child welfare, and court systems. Learn more about the National Working Group here. 

FInd more resources on helping foster youth achieve educational success here on Juvenile Law Center's website.