Child Welfare Services: Educational Care Coordination
Project Description:
Children in foster care are at risk for poor educational outcomes, school drop out and failure to graduate. Those children have health, mental health and developmental difficulties at a higher rate than others even from similar socio-economic backgrounds and their educational needs are often not considered a priority. Some reasons include that children in foster care move from one home to another, educational records are not transferred in a timely fashion and they do not have strong, informed advocates for their needs. This program ensures that educational information about children in foster care is transferred from one school to another in a timely fashion and that the services they receive help them meet their educational potential.
The overall goal of this program is to ensure that children in foster care receive timely enrollment in school upon placement into foster care and that the educational services they receive following placement are appropriate to their educational needs. The program ensures that throughout their foster care placement, appropriate educational services are obtained for children in foster care as additional needs are identified. In addition, the program ensures that as children exit foster care to their birth families or adoptive families, appropriate educational services are provided in their new school district post placement.
Staff in this program quickly obtains educational records from the previous school district when children are placed into foster care. They review the information and summarize it for caseworkers and others to understand and ensure that the new school district has all appropriate documentation to make an immediate appropriate educational plan. The staff provides technical assistance to caseworkers and advocacy at school meetings to ensure that all services are provided. The staff also monitors educational achievement throughout the placement and intervenes to identify additional services when necessary.
The benefits of this service include that caseworkers and foster parents have the support of educational professionals to assist in the planning and advocacy for appropriate educational services for children in foster care who previously did not receive appropriate services in a timely manner. These services ensure that children reach their educational potential and that educational outcomes for this underserved population are improved as well as improving self esteem and foster care stability.
Keyword(s):
educational advocacy, foster care, school placements, vulnerable population
Core Function(s):
Developing & Disseminating Information, Continuing Education/Community Training, Demonstration Services
Area of Emphasis
Quality of Life
Target Audience:
Professionals and Para-Professionals, Family Members/Caregivers, Children/Adolescents with Disabilities/SHCN
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Disadvantaged Circumstances, Specific Groups
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
Single-County
COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A
