While the educational experiences of youth in foster care and youth in special education have each been investigated separately, there is an alarming absence of information on the educational experiences of youth who interface with both systems: foster care and special education. It is imperative that the educational and transition experiences of these youth be investigated as they may face additional barriers which impact their educational performance and the quality of their transition planning. For example, research reveals that:• Youth in foster care experience significantly higher rates of disability than the general population• Youth who experience multiple foster care placements also experience frequent changes in schools, changes in curricula and adjustment to new educational expectations.• Child welfare systems severely underestimate the number of youth in their system that receive special education services.• Youth in foster care who are identified as needing special education services are significantly less likely to be receiving those services than children outside of care.The Fostering Futures Research Project will investigate the educational performance and quality of transition planning for high school youth with disabilities in foster care. The project is a collaboration between the Center on Self-Determination at OHSU's Oregon Institute on Disability and Development, Portland Public Schools, and social service agencies in Oregon. The project will be conducted in three phases: • The first phase will involve the collection of extant school data for foster care youth who experience disabilities. To serve as comparison groups, information will also be collected on youth who are involved in only foster care and only special education. Data will be collected on a total of 300 randomly selected youth (100 in each group). The study will gather critical information regarding the educational achievement and outcomes of foster care youth with disabilities, and will provide a direct comparison to the outcomes of peers who have involvement in only foster care or special education. • The second phase will evaluate the transition component of individualized education programs (IEPs) for foster care youth in special education. Specifically, the transition plans of 100 youth in both foster care and special education will be compared with the transition plans of 100 youth in special education only to assess whether compliance with the mandates of IDEA and reflections of best practice vary for youth in foster care.• The third phase will be a qualitative investigation of the educational experiences and barriers youth encounter, and the identification of strategies to promote their school success. To accomplish this, focus groups will be held with 1) foster care youth with disabilities; 2) child welfare professionals; 3) professionals in special education; and 4) foster parents. Findings from this research project, along with a best practices guide, will be comprehensively disseminated to regional and national audiences. This project will substantively contribute to our understanding of the educational and transition experiences and outcomes of students with disabilities in foster care, and will provide important information on promoting their school success. For more information about the project, please contact Dr. Geenen at (503) 232-9154 X111or
[email protected]
