EDUCATION:
The need to improve educational opportunities for children and youth in foster care
For many children and youth in foster care, educational achievement is hampered by an array of factors beyond their control. Nationally, children in foster care experience an average of three placements, moves from foster home to foster home that are often accompanied by moves from school to school. New school enrollments can mean that credits don't transfer, and that children miss critical days, weeks or months of learning that create ever-widening gaps in their education.
Studies have illustrated that education is a significant factor in determining the success of youth as they exit the foster care system and beyond. Yet the instability and frequent moves that many young people experience in foster care interrupt their education. "Having to change placements and change schools makes it so hard for us to succeed," stated Lupe Tovar in her testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support. Lupe spent 20 years in Arizona's foster care system. "Sometimes staying connected to your teachers and your friends at school is the only anchor that you have in foster care."
Fewer than 70 percent of youth in foster care complete high school before leaving foster care. According to an evaluation conducted by Mark Courtney and the Chapin Hall Center for Children, for youth who "age out" of foster care, that number drops to 58 percent. College enrollment is even lower. According to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administration website, while 70 percent of foster youth report that they would like to attend college, just 10 percent actually do and only four percent graduate with a two- or four-year degree.
The National Foster Care Coalition and its member organizations recognize and promote the importance of both educational stability and achievement for children and youth who have experienced foster care. We are involved in an array of educational issues that impact children and youth in foster care: from ensuring that children can remain in the same schools whenever possible, to advocating for mentors for children in foster care, to providing supports to maximize achievement.
Contact:
Kathi Crowe
Executive Director
National Foster Care Coalition
kcrowe@nationalfostercare.org
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