Educational Challenges, and Opportunities, for Foster Children and Youth

1. Educational Challenges, and Opportunities, for Foster Children and Youth Mark E. Courtney, Ph.D. POC Executive Director Ballmer Chair in Child Well-Being School of Social Work University of Washington

2. Acknowledging Needs & Strengthening Systems • Adoption and Safe Families Act – new emphasis on child well-being • Child welfare system still the “long-term parent” for many abused and neglected children • Educational status a critical aspect of foster children’s well-being

3. Some Basic Information on Children in Care • 27% in care are 5 years or under; 51% 10 or under • 40% entering are 5 years or under; 60% 10 or under • 46% in foster family home; 23% kinship care; 20% group care • About 2/3 go home and most of these within the first 18 months • Age matters in terms of permanency outcomes • 27% in care are 5 years or under; 51% 10 or under • 40% entering are 5 years or under; 60% 10 or under • 46% in foster family home; 23% kinship care; 20% group care • About 2/3 go home and most of these within the first 18 months • Age matters in terms of permanency outcomes

4. Background on the Studies • Work in Chicago begun in 2002 as part of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Student Development Planning Initiative • Continued as part of broader research program for the Illinois child welfare agency • Included both quantitative (approx. 5500 foster children in CPS) and qualitative research • The Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth • Foster youth in 3 states (n = 732) who were in out-of-home care at age 17, had entered care before their 16th birthday, and had been placed in care due to abuse and/or neglect • Interviews at ages 17-18, 19, and 21

5. Chicago: Falling Behind Early, Never Catching Up • Twice as likely as other CPS students to be at least a year old for their grade • Trauma prior to placement >>> to educational delays • More likely to be retained in school in the year immediately following placement in care

6. Special Education: The Most Appropriate Response? • More likely than other Chicago Public School students to be classified as learning disabled • More likely to have been placed in special education at least once • Behavioral problems >>> erroneous labeling of children as emotionally or behaviorally disordered? • Might remediation of educational deficits be more appropriate, in some cases, than special education? • Don’t confuse behavior associated with the transition to care with emotional disability

7. Changes in Placement, Changes in Schools • School mobility rates highest for those entering care for the first time • 40% of foster children who moved once and 66% of those who moved twice also switched schools during academic year • Over 80 percent of children changing schools attended a school within 5 miles of the school they left

8. Educational Consequences of School Mobility for Children • Disrupted educational instruction and social relationships • Delays in transfers of important school records • Delays in access to important special or supplemental educational services

9. The Challenge for Caseworkers: Identifying Needs • Finding an appropriate school • Securing special services • Motivating youth to stay in school • Helping prepare for and choose among post-secondary education options

10. The Challenge for Caseworkers: Knowing the Schools • Forming sustained, professional relationships between caseworkers and educators • Building familiarity with school processes and procedures

11. The Challenge for Caseworkers: Identifying Needs and Knowing the Schools • 45% of Illinois foster children had 2+ caseworkers (2003) • Caseloads distributed among many different schools and districts • High caseworker turnover

12. The Midwest Study: Educational Status at Baseline (17-18) • Enrolled in School: 695 (94.9%) • Type of School: • High School - 588 (80.3%) • Vocational School - 14 (1.9%) • College - 46 (6.3%) • Other - 47 (6.4%) • Special Education: 347 (47.3%) Add Health • Repeated a Grade: 272 (37.2%) 21.5% • Out of School Suspension: 489 (66.8%) 27.8% • Expelled from School: 121 (16.5%) 4.6% • Median Grade Equivalent Reading Score (WRAT-3): 7th Grade

13. Percentage of Young People Exiting Care at Various Points Up to Wave 2 Interview

14. Educational Attainment at 19

15. Receipt of Education-Related Services

16. Predictors of College Enrollment at Age 19 Estimated Effect Variableon Odds Caregiver problems 1.25 Delinquency .60 Retained a grade .51 Expects to complete college 1.93 Still in care at 19 2.84 2+ moves .34 2+ moves and still in care 6.36

17. Housing Mobility, Remaining in Care, and College

18. Lessons for Practice with Transition-Age Youth • Service providers and the courts must take into account that many foster youth are not prepared to make the transition to independence at age 18 • Most young people appear to value and benefit from their connections to the child welfare system • Educational deficits in high school (old for grade) are strongly related to the educational trajectory • Externalizing behavior problems affect the educational trajectory…we need to better address emotional/behavioral problems of foster youth • Aspirations matter (over 70 of youth report wanting to graduate from college and nearly as many expect to do so; no change over time in these aspirations and expectations)

19. Resources • Educational Experiences of Children in Out-of-Home Care (2004). Cheryl Smithgall, Robert Matthew Gladden, Eboni Howard, Robert M. Goerge, Mark E. Courtney: http://www.chapinhall.org/article_abstract.aspx?ar=1372 • Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth (2005). Mark E. Courtney, Amy Dworsky, Sherri Terao, Noel Bost, Gretchen Ruth Cusick, Thomas Keller, Judy Havlicek: http://www.chapinhall.org/article_abstract.aspx?ar=1355