The Power of Partnership: How Educators and Caseworkers Can Support Foster Students to Find Success

Youth in foster care face persistent educational challenges including high rates of absenteeism, behavioral issues, and special education needs. Trauma, frequent school moves, and ineffective systems cause poor educational outcomes for youth in foster care as well. National data trends demonstrate the stark contrast of poor educational outcomes for youth in foster care as compared to their peers. In fact, only 51% of foster youth graduate from high school and 33% are retained annually. 75% of foster youth change schools when they enter care causing a 3-month learning delay. Foster students are 3-4 times more likely to be expelled than students who are not in foster care and 30%-50% of students in foster care receive special education services as compared to 14% of non-foster students.

 

Youth in foster care often lack consistent connections with peers and trusted adults because of frequent school and placement changes. The trauma they’ve experienced impacts their ability to learn and regulate in the classroom and students in care often have significant deficits in social emotional learning skills as well. These compounding factors make the need for tailored academic and emotional support systems all the more necessary. This is precisely where EPSEA steps in. 

 

The Role of EPSEA in Facilitating Collaboration

The Educational Partnership for Social Emotional & Academics or EPSEA is an education provider for Franklin County Children’s Services (FCCS) based out of the ESC of Central Ohio. EPSEA staff leverage their knowledge of education systems to strengthen academic, behavior and attendance outcomes for youth in care. Liaisons develop social emotional learning skills with students by facilitating collaboration between child welfare, schools and caregivers, by asking for accommodations and additional support, and through one-on-one student meetings. These combined efforts move the needle for educational outcomes.

 

EPSEA meets with students one-on-one during the school day and works to build partnerships with teachers, caregivers and child welfare caseworkers to get a picture of a student’s current academic, behavior and attendance picture. Whether there are missing assignments, dysregulation in the classroom, suspected disabilities, or a need for tutoring, EPSEA Liaisons personalize the next steps based on that individual child’s need, relaying the key information to the network of adults and then during one-on-one meetings they support SEL development such as goal setting, self-management, and self or social awareness.

 

EPSEA’s approach to supporting educational success for youth in care closes national data outcomes. EPSEA sees significant boosts in graduation, matriculation and attendance rates and many students in EPSEA make academic gains as result of our support. EPSEA students are maintaining school placements through ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) as well where students can remain in their district of origin. EPSEA’s outcomes speak for themselves. Here’s a snapshot of EPSEA’s outcomes since 2020.

 

 

 

Educators as Advocates: Strategies for Supporting Foster Students 

We all have a role to play in the educational success of youth in foster care. As school staff, our relationships with kids become our first means to support kids in our care. Teachers can play a key role ensuring strong lines of communication with caregivers. This communication should be focused on sharing actionable information with families on missing assignments or upcoming deadlines, identify supportive accommodations or individualized learning plans, and help students build meaningful connections while supporting the development of social emotional learning skills. School staff can also partner with child welfare case workers to relay and partner with children in care. 

 

Additionally, every school district has a designated Foster Care Liaison who is tasked with ensuring the educational stability for youth in foster care under ESSA. This includes limiting school transfers and changes by having a Best Interest Determination (BID) meeting when children enter or change placements. A BID in essence explores what is in the best interest of the child by way of school changes in an assurance to limit school mobility.

 

Success Through Partnership: Key Takeaways for Schools and Social Services 

As evidenced data, EPSEA’s collaborative and supportive model goes a long way to improve educational outcomes for youth in care. How school staff, caregivers and child welfare caseworkers establish and maintain partnership can truly have positive impacts on educational outcomes for youth in care. Together our shared commitment to foster youth success can further those outcomes. Take time to connect and collaborate with caregivers, programs like EPSEA, and with child welfare staff. Encourage a whole-community approach to supporting foster students where social emotional learning development is seen as a driver for academic success. When we partner together on behalf of students in care, we all do better.  

 

If you would like to learn more about EPSEA, have EPSEA shared at a staff meeting, or want to attend Foster Care Educational Collaborative with school and child welfare staff, please email Andrea Summers at andrea.summers@escco.org.

 

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Andrea Summers serves as the Program Manager of EPSEA at the ESC of Central Ohio. With more than 25 years’ experience as an educator and administrator in Out-of-School Time (OST) and co-curricular and experiential learning programs, Andrea has expertise in family engagement, collective impact, social emotional learning and systems strategies to improve outcomes for vulnerable youth. Andrea holds an M.S. in Nonprofit Management, with a concentration on Education Policy, from The New School in NYC. She earned her B.A. from Antioch College in Sociology/Anthropology with a focus on Education. She holds certifications in Adaptive Schools & Cognitive Coaching through Thinking Collaborative, Family Engagement through Harvard University, and Culturally Responsive School Leadership through CRLS Institute. 

 

Footnotes:

[1] https://www.ed.gov/teaching-and-administration/supporting-students/special-populations/students-foster-care/students-in-foster-care#:~:text=Guidance%20and%20Regulatory%20Information&text=Data%20show%20that%20foster%20youth,lower%20high%20school%20graduation%20rates

 

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