7 keys to educating foster youth under lcap by james wogan, mft, lcsw, ppsc

Presented by:

James C. Wogan, LCSW, PPSCAdministrator, School Linked Services

Mt. Diablo Unified School District2730 Salvio Street, Concord, CA 94519

(925) 682-8000, 3054925.250.5500

[email protected]

Technical support for LEAs / School Districts to develop and strengthen plans to support foster youth

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.mdusd.org/

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LCAP CONFERENCEContra Costa County Office of Education

August 22, 2014

Effective Programs That Support Foster Youth to Succeed In School

7 Keys to Educating Foster Youth

8 Priorities under the LCFF / LCAP

1) Williams Settlement 2) Common Core 3) Parental Involvement 4) Pupil Achievement 5) Pupil Engagement 6) School Climate 7) Broad Course of Study 8) Course of Study Outcomes

The LCAP divides the eight (8)

CA priorities into

three (3) categories or “buckets”

Conditions of Learning

Pupil Outcomes Engagement

Number of Children in Foster Care: 1998 to 2012

Definition: Number of FY under age 21. Data Source: kidsdata.org, Numbers declined while the severity of behavioral health and educational needs increased.

http://www.kidsdata.org/topic/20/fostercare/trend


1) Identification of Foster Youth2) Training of district personnel and

educational partners3) Immediate Enrollment / AB4904) Support Services5) Legislation / Board Policy / AR6) Interagency Collaboration7) Fiscal Planning and Accountability

1) Identification of Foster Youth


1) Notice from CFS2) Notice per LCFF from CDE (CALPADS)3) Foster Focus 4) Survey of Group Homes5) ID upon enrollment: report from schools

(Fax report form and Student Information System)

What’s missing upon enrollment? Educational RightsIEP / Section 504 Educational History Health and Education Passport Partial Credits Mental Health Information

Identification of Foster Youth

2) Training of district personnel and educational partners


School Board Members and SuperintendentDistrict Leaders and School Site AdministratorsDistrict Staff

School Counselors School Psychologists Program Specialists Pre-school Programs Elementary and Secondary Education Technology and Information Services

Foster Parents Group Home StaffSocial WorkersProbation OfficersFoster Youth Liaison at every school

School district and community partners training

Existing and new legislationIdentification of foster youthSensitivity trainingFormer foster youth experienceProgram support services

TYPES OF TRAINING

3) Immediate Enrollment / AB490


Immediate Enrollment: Best Practices Immediate Enrollment requires collaboration between

Districts, COEs and Outside Agencies• Does your region/county use a common form/database

for new placements in the district? Immediate Enrollment requires collaboration within a

District (School, FYS Office, Special Education Office, Centralized Enrollment, Technology Services/Student Information System etc.)• Does your district have an enrollment process and

common procedures to communicate effectively and immediately?

Immediate Enrollment requires ongoing staff development:• AB490/AB1933 Coordination• Record Requests• Special Education Placement• Immunization and Transcript Waivers• Student Information System and Technical Support• Alternative Placements• Group Homes / FFA’s

Immediate Enrollment: Common Hurdles Students with IEPs – Special Education Interim

Placements• Expediting turnaround time for Special Education

Placement • NPS placements from another SELPA• 30-Day Interim IEPs• Mental Health • Holder of Educational Rights

Transportation Issues• District Transportation Policies• Bus Passes• Reimbursement for mileage

Group Home Placements• Coordination of Enrollment Meetings• LRE in Public Schools• Alternative Placement Requests

4) Support Services Tutoring Counseling Mentoring Case Management Extra Curricular Activities Coordinated Delivery of Services Meaningful lasting relationships with

CARING ADULTS


Embedded support

5) Legislation / Board Policy / AR

AB97 – LCFF / LCAP AB490 AB167 / AB216 AB1909

Pending Legislation


AB 167/216AB 167 was amended (AB 216) to make access to high school graduation more accessible to a growing number of foster youth. The most significant change under AB216 is in the reasonableness determination now specifically applying to earning credits for graduation by the end of your fourth year in high school rather than before losing the opportunity to remain in care. REASONABLENESS:The reasonableness of a student’s ability to meet district graduation requirements should be made on an individual, case‐by‐case basis.

BEST PRACTICE:A foster youth not initially qualifying for AB 167/216 based on a reasonableness determination may subsequently qualify as it becomes more apparent that the student will not graduate on time. Best practice suggests that when developing a course schedule for such a foster youth, the schedule should focus on the academic courses to the exclusion of elective courses.

AB 1909 requires the foster youth educational liaison to notify the foster holder of educational rights, child’s attorney, and representative of the county child welfare agency of pending expulsion proceedings if the decision to recommend expulsion is a discretionary act, pending proceedings to extend a suspension until an expulsion decision is rendered if the decision to recommend expulsion is a discretionary act, and, if the foster child is an individual with exceptional needs, notification of pending manifestation determination is required.

DISCRETIONARY ACT:Does not include the five (5) non-discretionary expulsion proceedings: Brandishing a knife, possessing, selling or providing a firearm, selling a controlled substance, sexual assault, possessing an explosive.

BEST PRACTICE:If there is a CASA assigned, best to include the CASA in these notifications as well.

AB 1909

6) Interagency Collaboration Foster Youth Services (FYS) Advisory School Coordinated Care Teams CFS CMH LCI FYS coordinated services Memorandums of Understanding – support for LGBTQ

youth, for example, via Partnership Agreements w. CBO’s. MSW School Social Work Interns – field placement training

program See CA Foster Youth Ed Summit Presentation 2015:

Interagency Collaboration –Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Foster Youth who reside in group homes, James Wogan, Derek Wang, Mt. Diablo Unified Foster Youth Services


Foster Youth Stakeholders (LCAP)

7) Fiscal Planning and AccountabilityLCAP – Section 3 Possible funding: Title I N, Title I D, Title I-H, MAA, LEA-Medical, WIA, IV-E, IDEA, Sig Dis Redirection, General Fund, Other

Accountability: Fiscal, Stakeholder, Students, Team, Self Outcome Measures: Access, Attendance, Achievement, Behavior, Equity, IDEA, Longitudinal Comparison, Other Annual Reporting: LCAP report, Public Presentations, Summary Report Foster Youth are all Title I A Eligible.

7 KEYS to Educating Foster Youth

DISCUSSION

Common Challenges

1) Foster Youth Services Brochure

2) FYS Flow Chart

3) Enrollment / Foster Youth report form

4) Foster Youth “Enrollment / Registration Tool”

5) www.fosteredconnect.org

Materials

http://www.fosteredconnect.org/

iOn the road

Discussion / Time to reflect

Q & A

MAY IS NATIONAL

FOSTER CARE MONTH!

James C. Wogan, LCSW, PPSCAdministrator, School Linked ServicesMt. Diablo Unified School District Foster

Youth Education Liaison

[email protected] 925.250.5500

