Fresno County Foster Youth and Education May 30, 2008

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

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

Foster Care Statistics

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

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  Must have high school diploma or GED  Must have reading and math scores at or above 7 th 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

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

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

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 4 th Largest School District in California 82% Poverty Rate 1,200 students in Foster Care/Group Homes 2,300 Homeless Students 107 Schools

Youth Law Center Collaborative Project

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 and follow over time to analyze the impacts of interventions.

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

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

Children's Interagency Data Sharing Project

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.

Foster Youth and Education Breakthrough Series Collaborative

Breakthrough Series Collaborative 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

School Year 7th & 8 th Grade-Quarter 1 9 th –12 th Grade-Quarter 1

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

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.

9/07

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Other Education Initiatives 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.

Other Education Initiatives 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.