FOSTER YOUTH - CORE PROGRAMS

Program Overview:
Many of the children placed in foster care have suffered debilating physical and emotional traumas as a result of parental neglect or abuse. Instead of finding a sense of security and stability to help heal their wounds, they often languish in the foster care system, moving from placement to placement and school to school. This instability has a powerful effect on their success in school. They must adjust to new friends, teachers, group norms both inside and outside the classroom, new educational expectations, curricula, and keep pace as new material is taught. These changes can be overwhelming and incapacitating.

When foster children experience changes in care and school placements, knowledge of their educational needs often stays with the prior group home or school. Added to the emotional disturbance and adjustments they face are the stresses of falling behind academically, losing academic credit, and losing contact with persons who are aware of their health and welfare needs. These conditions can lead to greater number of behavioral problems that can seriously affect their academic progress and the stability of their placements in school.

In an effort to support children in their foster home and school placements, educational-based programs were implemented to support foster youth's educational and emotional needs, and to reduce the multiple changes in placements. In 1973, the San Juan, Mt. Diablo, Sacramento, and Elk Grove Unified school districts began Foster Youth Services (FYS) programs to provide advocacy, tutoring, instruction, and other support services to enhance foster children's school success under the provisions of California Education Codes 42920-42925. The Legislature established uniform data collection for these four programs in 1988, requiring biennial reports on their effectiveness. It authorized and funded programs in Paramount Unified School District as well as the Placer and Nevada Counties Consortium in 1992.

References to California Education Codes:
EC 42920      Legislative Findings
EC 42920.5   Allowances for foster children service programs
EC 42921      Children residents in regularly established licensed or approved foster home
EC 42922      Funding for fiscal year by appropriation from legislature
EC 42923      Reports in even-numbered years
EC 42924      Use of funds; reversion of excess to state general fund
EC 42925      Advisory committee; membership; applications for funding; proposed sum for                     allocation
                  
California Foster Care Education Law Fact Sheets - November 2006