Fresno County Foster Youth and Education

1. Fresno CountyFoster Youth and Education May 30, 2008

2. Historical Education Initiatives • K-Six Early Intervention Program • Parenting Partnership • Data Sharing MOU/Court Order

3. Sharing Information with FUSD Prior to AB490: School Board policy changes MOU developed with FUSD to share info. IT systems designed.

4. Foster Care Statistics

5. WPClipart is a collection of high-quality, public domain PNG images optimized for use in word processors. The entire collection is also downloadable and comes with a handy viewer/editor that is GPL software, coded with Python and the wxWidgets cross-platform GUI toolkit. Be sure to check by often to see the frequent additions! Foster Care Statistics cont.

6. Incredible Years – Phoenix Elem. Infant Mental Health 0-6 Restructuring: All Foster Children in Head Start Renaissance /Guardian Scholars Foster Youth EducationContinuum of Services Education Liaison K-8 YLC – Fresno Education Project MOU/Court Order: Info. Sharing Data Share Project 4 pre-high school orientations BSC – Improving Educational Continuity MHSA- Therapists on campus K-6 Intervention/Homeless Project Access GH Expectations involvement in education ILP in High School Bridge Program Age 0-5 5-11 12-15 15-18 18-24 Pre-School Elementary School Middle School High School Post - High School 00-6

7. The Foster Bridge Program • Intensive program designed to offer aging-out foster youth support and guidance they need in order to make a smooth transition into college and/or vocational training. • Who is eligible? • Aging out foster youth • Must be between the ages of 18-21 • Must have high school diploma or GED • Must have reading and math scores at or above 7th grade level • Upon completion of the Foster Bridge Program youth will be guided to continue towards a two-or four-year degree at college or enter into short-term vocational or certificate training that leads to a career

8. Guardian Scholars – Core Elements • Process for identification and assessment of students for program acceptance • Full financial aid package • Single on-campus point of contact/support person • Availability of year round housing • Academic guidance and counseling • Academic supports – Tutoring, etc. • Supplemental supports – transportation, child care, etc. • Social Activities • Student Leadership • External supports – scholarships, employment • Sustainable funding

9. Incredible Years – Phoenix Elem. Infant Mental Health 0-6 Restructuring: All Foster Children in Head Start Renaissance /Guardian Scholars Foster Youth EducationContinuum of Services Education Liaison K-8 YLC – Fresno Education Project MOU/Court Order: Info. Sharing Data Share Project 4 pre-high school orientations BSC – Improving Educational Continuity MHSA- Therapists on campus K-6 Intervention/Homeless Project Access GH Expectations involvement in education ILP in High School Bridge Program Age 0-5 5-11 12-15 15-18 18-24 Pre-School Elementary School Middle School High School Post - High School 00-6

10. Department of Children and Family Services: • County-administered public agency • Child Welfare and Children’s Mental Health Services • Over 700 employees • Family to Family Initiative • Over 2,232 children in out of home care • Fresno Unified School District: • 76,000 Students • 4th Largest School District in California • 82% Poverty Rate • 1,200 students in Foster Care/Group Homes • 2,300 Homeless Students • 107 Schools

11. Youth Law Center Collaborative Project

12. Youth Law Project Goals • Identify educational barriers faced by Fresno County youth in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems • Propose strategies to remove those barriers • Use data to focus on problem areas • Begin with a population of foster children in grades 7 - 9 and follow over time to analyze the impacts of interventions.

13. Youth Law Center Collaborative Project Pilot study with the Youth Law Center working with targeted 7th and 8th grade students living with relatives and performing at GPA 2.0 or below to address individual education barriers.

14. Youth Law Project Highlights • 1st Year (21 Students) GPA improved 71% Changed schools 34% • 2nd Year (30 Students) GPA improved 67% Changed schools 10% • 3rd Year (40 Students)– Data pending (June 2008 report cards)

15. Children's Interagency Data Sharing Project

16. Data Sharing Project • Establish a juvenile information sharing collaborative. • Utilized OJJDP Data Sharing Framework. • Looked at other data sharing processes in other counties. • Attended Juvenile Info. Sharing Symposium- Washington D.C. • Developed MOU template with School Districts. • Board of Supervisor special meeting. • Presentation to District Superintendants and receive • MOU approval.

17. Foster Youth and Education Breakthrough Series Collaborative

18. Breakthrough SeriesCollaborative Goals • DCFS caseworkers to identify educational rights holder • Evaluate and review any current information on educational rights • Educational Rights Source • Bring awareness, foster collaboration, and open lines of communication with dependency judges • Provide opportunities for foster youth to engage in extracurricular activities as well as tutoring opportunities

19. 2006-2007 School Year 7th & 8th Grade-Quarter 1 9th –12th Grade-Quarter 1

20. 7 High Schools in FUSD 8th Graders Transitioning to 9th grade Approximately 58 Foster Youth BSC

21. BSC Activities Improve communication with School Districts regarding notices of termination and placement change. Conformity to new California Rules of Court. Develop education rights pamphlets for Birth Parents, Foster Youth and Foster Parents. Work with incoming 9th graders at Sunnyside High. Develop communication between all social workers working in the schools both County and FUSD.

22. 9/07

23. 9/07

24. 9/07

25. 2005-2007

26. 0% 2005 - 2007

27. Other EducationInitiatives • Training of School Personnel in Child Welfare Issues • FUSD Bi-monthly meeting • Education Liaison • Education Law Training – Delinquency/Dependency Court System attorneys • Partnership with Probation on education of foster youth • “Endless Dreams” Training for ILP Social Workers • Data sharing meeting held with County Board of Supervisors, DCFS, Probation, District Superintendents, and District Foster Care Liaisons • Baseline data for foster youth in middle and high schools is being collected and analyzed. • Individual meetings with local group home providers to discuss educational issues and expectations. • Direct contact with the schools about individual foster youth issues regarding student moves, truancy, testing and other obstacles that are preventing the youth from maximizing educational opportunities.

28. Other EducationInitiatives cont. • Restructuring of Independent Living Skills (ILP) unit social work assignments so social workers are assigned high schools with high percentages of foster youth enrolled. These social workers will work on campus weekly to meet and work with the youth enrolled to immediately identify and address educational issues. • Modifying Pride Foster Parent Training for new foster parents to include the importance of educational advocacy and how to navigate the school system • Developing in-service training to emphasize the social worker role and responsibility in the education of their children. • Inviting educational providers to the Family to Family Collaboratives and include the collaboratives in working within their schools to advocate for the foster youth in their community as a joint partnership between the community, the educators and the department. • Working with K-6 social workers on early identification of foster children in elementary schools having educational issues to promote early identification of learning disabilities, testing and support services. • Designing tracking system to follow foster children through the educational system and assist in assessing success of applied interventions.