educational challenges, and opportunities, for foster children and youth mark e. courtney, ph.d. poc...
TRANSCRIPT
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Educational Challenges, and Opportunities, for Foster Children and Youth
Mark E. Courtney, Ph.D.
POC Executive Director
Ballmer Chair in Child Well-Being
School of Social Work
University of Washington
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Acknowledging Needs & Strengthening Systems
• Adoption and Safe Families Act – new emphasis on child well-being
• Child welfare system still the “long-term parent” for many abused and neglected children
• Educational status a critical aspect of foster children’s well-being
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Some Basic Information on Children in Care
• 27% in care are 5 years or under; 51% 10 or under• 40% entering are 5 years or under; 60% 10 or under• 46% in foster family home; 23% kinship care; 20% group care• About 2/3 go home and most of these within the first 18 months• Age matters in terms of permanency outcomes• 27% in care are 5 years or under; 51% 10 or under• 40% entering are 5 years or under; 60% 10 or under• 46% in foster family home; 23% kinship care; 20% group care• About 2/3 go home and most of these within the first 18 months• Age matters in terms of permanency outcomes
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Background on the Studies
• Work in Chicago begun in 2002 as part of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Student Development Planning Initiative
• Continued as part of broader research program for the Illinois child welfare agency
• Included both quantitative (approx. 5500 foster children in CPS) and qualitative research
• The Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth• Foster youth in 3 states (n = 732) who were in out-of-home care at age
17, had entered care before their 16th birthday, and had been placed in care due to abuse and/or neglect
• Interviews at ages 17-18, 19, and 21
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Chicago: Falling Behind Early, Never Catching Up
• Twice as likely as other CPS students to be at least a year old for their grade
• Trauma prior to placement >>> to educational delays• More likely to be retained in school in the year immediately
following placement in care
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Special Education: The Most Appropriate Response?
• More likely than other Chicago Public School students to be classified as learning disabled
• More likely to have been placed in special education at least once
• Behavioral problems >>> erroneous labeling of children as emotionally or behaviorally disordered?
• Might remediation of educational deficits be more appropriate, in some cases, than special education?
• Don’t confuse behavior associated with the transition to care with emotional disability
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Changes in Placement, Changes in Schools
• School mobility rates highest for those entering care for the first time
• 40% of foster children who moved once and 66% of those who moved twice also switched schools during academic year
• Over 80 percent of children changing schools attended a school within 5 miles of the school they left
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Educational Consequences of School Mobility for Children
• Disrupted educational instruction and social relationships
• Delays in transfers of important school records
• Delays in access to important special or supplemental educational services
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The Challenge for Caseworkers: Identifying Needs
• Finding an appropriate school
• Securing special services
• Motivating youth to stay in school• Helping prepare for and choose among post-
secondary education options
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The Challenge for Caseworkers: Knowing the Schools
• Forming sustained, professional relationships between caseworkers and educators
• Building familiarity with school processes and procedures
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The Challenge for Caseworkers: Identifying Needs and Knowing the Schools
• 45% of Illinois foster children had 2+ caseworkers (2003)
• Caseloads distributed among many different schools and districts
• High caseworker turnover
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The Midwest Study: Educational Status at Baseline (17-18)
• Enrolled in School: 695 (94.9%)• Type of School:
– High School - 588 (80.3%)– Vocational School - 14 (1.9%)– College - 46 (6.3%)– Other - 47 (6.4%)
• Special Education: 347 (47.3%) Add Health• Repeated a Grade: 272 (37.2%) 21.5%• Out of School Suspension: 489 (66.8%) 27.8% • Expelled from School: 121 (16.5%) 4.6%• Median Grade Equivalent Reading Score (WRAT-3): 7th
Grade
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Percentage of Young People Exiting Care at Various Points Up to Wave 2 Interview
0 10 20 30 40 50
Wisconsin
Iowa
Illinois
> 2 years
18 months but < 2years
1 year but < 18months
6 months but < 1year
< 6 months
Exited before 18thbirthday
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Educational Attainment at 19
Total % Still in Care %
No Longer in Care %
No high school diploma/GED
38.2 38.2 36.1
Enrolled in school 47.7 66.7 30.8
High school/GED program
15.2 20.9 10.1
Vocational training 8.8 8.5 9.1
2 or 4 year college 23.7 37.2 11.7
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Receipt of Education-Related Services
Total
Sample Still in Care
No Longer in
Care Educational Support Services Reported Received Since First Interview % % # Career Counseling 23.7 29.8 18.4 Study Skills Training 20.1 26.0 15.0 School to Work Support 19.9 25.1 15.3 GED Preparation 12.1 14.6 10.0 SAT/ACT Preparation 11.6 15.0 8.8 College Application Assistance 27.9 36.2 20.6 Financial Aid/Loan Application Assistance 26.7 35.1 19.3 Attend University/College fair 15.9 21.6 10.9
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Predictors of College Enrollment at Age 19
Estimated Effect
Variable on Odds
Caregiver problems 1.25
Delinquency .60
Retained a grade .51
Expects to complete college 1.93
Still in care at 19 2.84
2+ moves .34
2+ moves and still in care 6.36
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Housing Mobility, Remaining in Care, and College
Observed Probability of College Enrollment for All Youth
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Low Moves High Moves
Housing Stability
Co
lle
ge
En
roll
me
nt
Not in care
In care
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Lessons for Practice with Transition-Age Youth
• Service providers and the courts must take into account that many foster youth are not prepared to make the transition to independence at age 18
• Most young people appear to value and benefit from their connections to the child welfare system
• Educational deficits in high school (old for grade) are strongly related to the educational trajectory
• Externalizing behavior problems affect the educational trajectory…we need to better address emotional/behavioral problems of foster youth
• Aspirations matter (over 70 of youth report wanting to graduate from college and nearly as many expect to do so; no change over time in these aspirations and expectations)
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Resources
• Educational Experiences of Children in Out-of-Home Care (2004). Cheryl Smithgall, Robert Matthew Gladden, Eboni Howard, Robert M. Goerge, Mark E. Courtney: http://www.chapinhall.org/article_abstract.aspx?ar=1372
• Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth (2005). Mark E. Courtney, Amy Dworsky, Sherri Terao, Noel Bost, Gretchen Ruth Cusick, Thomas Keller, Judy Havlicek: http://www.chapinhall.org/article_abstract.aspx?ar=1355