Report Finds That Fewer Than Half of African American Males Graduate On Time

A new report from the Schott Foundation for Public Education reveals that the overall graduation rate for African America males attending U.S. public schools during the 2007-2008 was 47%.

According to the 2010 Schott State Report on Black Males in Public Education, half of the states in the county have graduation rates for African American males below the national average for students.

To find out how your state is doing, please visit the national map of Individual State Report Cards.

In Ohio, for example, African American male youth are:

• Six times more likely to be expelled
• Twice as likely to be diagnosed with mental retardation
• Half as likely to be entered into gifted/talented programs

The overall opportunities to learn provided for African American male youth in Ohio were determined to be 21% that of other students.

This is a percentage that needs to change.

The Report Summary contains a helpful chart on page 9 that maps out the Conditions for Success vs. Conditions for Failure.

Three Research Briefs re: Foster Care & Educational Outcomes

 Opening Doors to Higher Education for Youth in Foster Care
The Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy Policy Brief (March 2010) discusses the difficulty for youth in care in going to college. This brief outlines financial aid reforms that are necessary to help as these youth attempt to get a postsecondary education.

http://www.scaany.org/documents/cpa_policybrief_highereduc2_may2010.pdf

Foster Youth Education Initiative Releases Report on Improving Opportunities for Foster Youth
Foster youth lack parental advocates to monitor their academic progress, attend parent-teacher conferences, enroll them in appropriate classes, and ensure they receive a quality education. As a consequence, they often fail to receive the opportunities necessary to succeed in school.

NCYL’s Foster Youth Education Initiative (http://www.fosteredconnect.org/) has released its long-awaited report on how California is ensuring that foster children receive academic opportunities by creating educational advocacy systems for youth. This report includes overviews of 11 models, and concrete recommendations to improve outcomes.

http://www.youthlaw.org/fileadmin/ncyl/youthlaw/education/CA_Education_Advocacy_Systems_1_.pdf

Addressing the Unmet Educational Needs of Children and Youth in the Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Systems
This report, published by Georgetown Public Policy Institute’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, discusses the poor educational outcomes that many child welfare and juvenile justice involved youth face:

http://cjjr.georgetown.edu/pdfs/ed/edpaper.pdf

Challenges Facing Transitional Youth - Especially African American Young Men

Hearing this radio interview on NPR, and reading the research below concerns me - especially because of African Americans overrepresentation in foster care.

This is one of many reasons why the Ohio chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America is involved in dismantling the Cradle to Prison Pipeline in our state.

Our young people need better preparation and a network of support.



The Educational Crisis Facing Young Men of Color

• Young men are not persisting in school or achieving at the same academic levels as young women.

• This challenge is most acute for the most disadvantaged men of color. At just about every stage of the educational pipeline, they lag behind minority women in terms of achievement, persistence, and school and college completion.

High Unemployment Rate for African American Youth
• The current unemployment rate for black male youth, ages 16 to 19, is 52%

• Corporate Voices and the Ready by 21 Partnership are working to engage business leaders to create local partnerships within their communities.

Will the Fostering Adoption to Further Student Achievement Act be retroactive?

My friend and her sister were adopted by a couple who also adopted two other sibling groups (making six adopted children total in their household).

Then, this couple divorced --- and in the aftermath, neither has stepped up to the mat to support my friend during her college years. Will the Fostering Adoption to Further Student Achievement Act apply to her? Is it retroactive?

My friend is 20 years old, and a sophomore in college -- and she is facing these challenges on her own. I wonder if this legislation will or will not apply retrospectively to her?

On July 20, 2007, the Higher Education Access Act of 2007 passed the Senate by a vote of 78-18, increasing college access and affordability by boosting financial aid.

The Fostering Adoption to Further Student Achievement Act, was introduced by Senators Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) to amend the Higher Education Access Act. It is intended to encourage the adoption of older children by not forcing a teenager to choose between a loving family and financial aid.

Current law allows youth who "age out" of the foster care system to qualify for virtually all college loans and grants, while essentially penalizing those who are adopted.

The Coleman-Landrieu amendment expands the definition of "independent student" as defined in current law to include youth in foster care who are adopted after their tenth birthday. This allows a student's financial aid eligibility to be determined solely by that student's ability to pay, regardless of his or her adoptive family's income level, since many families who adopt teenagers and pre-teens may have done so without being able to shoulder the entire burden of college tuition.

"Education and a loving family are two key components of a child's mental and emotional development. No child should have to choose between the two," said Senator Coleman.

"Under current law, adopted teenagers lose out on some or all college financial aid for which they would otherwise have been eligible, depending on his or her adopted parents' financial situation. I applaud the Senate for passing our amendment to alleviate this discrepancy and encourage teen and pre-teen adoption."

"It is unacceptable for students to receive less financial aid merely because they were adopted," Senator Landrieu said.

"Restricting the financial aid opportunities of adopted teens unfairly penalizes them simply for seeking the love and stability that only a family can offer. This amendment corrects such unwise law by allowing adopted children to receive the financial help they need to attend college and realize their full potential."

Source: Press release by the National Foster Parent Association

Foster care and No Child Left Behind

Research reveals high school mobility rates for young people entering foster care for the first time. Over two-thirds of foster care youth change schools shortly after their initial placement.

When I was in foster care, I experienced this first-hand. Moving from placement to placement required me change high schools five times. I lived in three different towns, and each time I changed schools, it was mid-semester.

Each school used a different textbook. The area where this affected me most was in math. Algebra? Yipes - don't talk to me about Algebra. I changed schools three times the year I was taking Algebra 1. By the the end of the year, I was completely lost.

The way I explained it to my third Algebra teacher that year was that I didn't know much about Algebra -- but what I did know was the formulas were dependent on each other. Learning Algebra was like constructing a building -- and I had no solid foundation. Just a few bricks here, a few stones there, no cohesive structure that fit together.

At the time, he didn't really seem to be listening to me. He asked me a couple of mathematical questions, and then threw up his hands and said, "If you don't know that, it's no use my trying to teach you. You are too far behind."

Thankfully, Casey Family Programs and the National Education Association don't have that sort of lackadaisical approach when it comes to improving the educational outcomes of foster children.

On April 24, 2007, they released a list of recommendations, which were included as part of the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act and McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act in a congressional briefing.

These recommendiations include:

1.) Improving school stability for young people in foster care.

2.) Ensuring that foster youth have access to education-related support services by making them automatically eligible for Title 1 services.

3.) Increasing funding for school counselors and mental health services.

I firmly agree with William C. Bell, president and CEO of Casey Family Programs that, "Our children and youth in foster care deserve better than the educational outcomes they currently face. We must be steadfast in working to provide them hope and success for their future."

For more information, please visit: http://www.casey.org/MediaCenter/PressReleasesAndAnnouncements/NCLB24April2007.htm

Source:
Press release from Casey Family Programs and the National Education Association.

Importance of college tours for youth in foster care

Photograph of Pinkie Thomas

Although 70% of 17-year-olds in foster care express a desire to attend college, only 54% graduate from high school and only 2 - 5% earn a college degree.

Why? According to a 2002 study, barriers to college access for youth in and from foster care included:
-Multiple school placements
-Inconsistent social support
-Low educational expectations from caregivers
-Schools placing foster youth on vocational tracks
-Poor quality of education at group home and residential on-site schools
-Lack of access to college prep resources

Factors that helped foster care alumni to enter and succeed in college included:
- Information about financial aid
- Advice about college
- Attending college prep classes in high school

In a recent forum with Ohio foster care youth, two sisters shared their experiences with two very different social workers. One sister had a social worker who was willing to take her on college tours. The other sister had requested this assistance - and her social worker had refused.

When social workers don't expect their charges to succeed in college -
When they refuse to invest in youth people with whom they are entrusted -
When they don't share information about financial aide and ETV funding -
They are investing in the failure rate of foster care alumni.
Didn't they enter into their profession in order to build up the success rate?

Among child welfare personnel, it is the staff members who are willing to invest in young people who make the difference. College tours are a wonderful way to demonstrate that higher education is accessible to people in and from foster care.

Pinkie Thomas, director of the Ohio Family Care Association, a statewide agency supporting foster, kinship, respite and adoptive parents, wants to increase the college attendance rate of young people in and from the Ohio foster care system.

She arranged for a group of teenagers in the custody of Franklin County Children Services to travel by bus on a series of college tours, led by college students and/or admissions counselors.

Destinations included Kentucky State, Central State, University of Toledo, Bowling Green University, Hocking College, Ohio University, Mount Vernon Nazarene and Kent State University.

I applaud Pinkie Thomas for her foresight and dedication. She's right -- foster care alumni can do a lot better than 2 - 5%.

It is the people in our lives who can make a positive or negative difference. I still remember Randy Mills, the admissions counselor at the University of Kentucky, and how I came into his office as a scared 16-year-old, and left as an enrolled university student.

He saw beyond my 'troubled' background and recognized me for my grades, ACT scores, and the letters my high school teachers had written on my behalf. He didn't view me as a victim or a statistic, but as a survivor. And, I proved him right. I made it through college and graduate school.

Youth in foster care rely upon a system of caretakers for the things that a family normally provides.

The significant adults in our lives need to believe that we can succeed. They need to invest in school stability, provide us with a challenging curriculum and make sure that we have at least one adult role model who invests in our future.

Source:
Merdinger, J., Hines, A.M., Lemon, K., & Wyatt, P. (2005). Pathways to college for former foster youth: toward understanding factors that contribute to educational success. Child Welfare, 84 (6), 867-896.
Hines, A.M., Merdinger, J. & Wyatt, P. (2005). Former foster youth attending college: resilience and the transition to young adulthood. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 75 (3), 381-394.

Scholarships for former foster youth

The Orphan Foundation of America and Casey Family Scholars Program are offering $1.5 million to help foster youth attend college, university, or training programs.

These scholarships are competitive. The deadline to apply is March 31.

More information and application procedures are available at www.orphan.org

Another source of financial assistance is available through state vouchers: www.statevoucher.org/

The process is less competitive, but getting the paperwork from the school can be problematic.

My friend Anjey Breno, who works for the Orphan Foundation of America, reports that foster youth are more likely to follow through with the entire application process if a caring adult is there to guide them through the process.

Youth who are eligible receive up to $5,000 a year to help with tuition, student loans, books, rent and food.

Charter School for Foster Youth?

As a result of my recent Edspresso article, I was asked for my insights regarding a Maryland initiative. Basically, this group is trying to develop a charter school for foster youth living in the city of Baltimore.

This charter school would provide classes for elementary and middle school students. Staffing would be comprised of a team of teachers with expertise in helping foster youth succeed academically.

Partnerships would (hopefully) be developed with foster parents and group home staff, in order to develop a supportive community around school. This group is also looking into fund-raising, in order to provide extracurricular programs for foster youth during the summer.

Benefits of this program:
1.) Obviously, educational support, which many foster youth sorely need.

2.) Accountability for youth to show up at school.

3.) Focusing on elementary and middle students seems to be in order to establish early intervention, and to keep younger children from falling behind.

Risks of this program:
1.) Might overlook foster youth's need for "normalizing" experiences.
My first question was, "What opportunties will be given for foster youth to interact with nonfoster youth?" If even the extracurricular activities include only foster youth, those youth will be missing out on social opportunties with youth from more stable backgrounds.

As a foster alumni, I would have to say that my friendships with peers from different backgrounds were very valuable to me in developing a full and accurate picture of the world while growing up. Being around only other fosters can lead to a more "skewed" perspective. There needs to be a balance.

2.) Perceptions: How will youth view the program? How will it be viewed by the public? Hopefully not as an institution, because there can be some negative stigmas attached to that.

3.) Future transitions: How difficult will it be for middle school foster youth who "age out" of this charter school to adjust to regular high school? Will support drop off entirely?

Things to consider:
1.) Need for proactive community education:
It will be important to proactively share positive information about the program, every year, with high school guidance counselors and principals in the local area.
Otherwise, when youth age out of the program in middle school and enter high school, seeing the institute's name on their school records might lead to assumptions or stigma.

2.) Importance of challenging personal assumptions:
Teachers might need to challenge their preconceived assumptions of foster youth. Some foster youth excel academically, others struggle. There's no one set curriculum that will work with all foster youth.

3.) Regarding partnering with group homes and foster parents to develop a community... I'd be interested to see how that works out.

Group home staff don't always have the same level of investment as some of the more dedicated foster parents. There's less of a bond when it's a job that you come home from after you work your shift, versus a child who is actually living in your home.

Foster Youth and College

Here is a link to my article about educational vouchers for Arizona foster children: http://www.edspresso.com/2006/08/what_the_arizona_foster_vouche.htm

Educational challenges for foster youth to overcome:
- 65% of foster children experience seven or more school K-12 changes.
- There is often a lack of (biological) parental support.
- Many foster youth do not attend high schools with college preparatory curriculum.
- 37% of foster youth drop out of high school, as opposed to 16% of nonfoster youth.
- Many earn their GED, rather than a diploma.

Foster teens often perceive college as unaffordable. They may lack the skills (or patience) necessary to fill out a FAFSA form online.

Due to the myriad of disadvantages, it should not be surprising that, although 70% of foster teenagers express interest in attending college, only 10% of traditionally college-aged foster youth access post-secondary education. What this means is that roughly 100,000 college qualified foster youth are missing out on opportunity to attend.

Programs that support college access by foster youth:
- Chaffee Independence program
- Chaffee Education & Training Voucher
- Statewide and independently-based programs (Guardian Scholars Program at CSU, Governor’s Scholarship Program in Washington

Facts about foster alumni who go to college:
- Foster youth represent less than 1% of undergraduates.
-The majority of foster youth undergraduates are female .
- Foster youth have substantially lower incomes than non-foster students.

Despite their disadvantages, foster youth are just as likely to attend 4-year colleges, are as likely to attend full-time and their college costs are nearly identical.

However, foster alumni are more likely to drop out of college. (53% of foster vs. 31% nonfoster college students dropped out in 2001).

Two suggestions to improve the situation:
1.) Housing: Residence halls need to open year-round. States can provide former foster care youths, ages 18, 19, and 20, with financial, housing, counseling, employment and education. However, there is a federal requirement that no more than 30% of a state’s allotment of funds may be used to provide room and board.

2.) Programs like GEAR UP and TRIO should target foster youth. Foster youth in high school need mentoring and guidance.

Sources:
Davis, Ryan K. Research and Policy Associate. National Association of Student Aid Administrators 2006 Retention Conference.

Foster youth benefit from extracurricular activities

How do extracurricular activities benefit foster youth?
It's difficult to argue the fact that foster youth face educational disadvantages.

Statistics from the Child Trends Databank reveal that foster children are more likely to be suspended or expelled from school and exhibit low levels of school engagement and minimal involvement with extracurricular activties.

Steve Duncan, PhD, of Montana State University attests that, "School extracurricular activities and involvement in community clubs and organizations are important in fostering the strengths of youth; strengths that help young people steer away from undesirable behavior."

According to research, extracurricular involvement by foster children is strongly associated with healthy educational attainment.

Benefits include:
- Lower drop-out rates
- Increased attachment to school
- Increased self esteem
- Better educational outcomes

Being involved in school activities "normalizes" foster youth. It offers opportunities for them to build friendships with youth from different backgrounds. Participation in this arena helps foster children to discern and embrace their talents and abilities.

Barriers to extracurricular involvement

1.) Liability concerns: Traditionally, foster children have often been prohibited from activities such as spending the night at a friend's house, involvement in activities such as clubs or sports teams and even field trips.

Foster parents have been reluctant to (or discouraged from) signing permission slips, without prior approval from the social worker, licensing agency and/or juvenile court.

2.) Frequent school changes: Changing schools makes extracurricular involvement challenging, but not impossible. As a foster teenager, I changed schools five times in high school, while maintaining involvement in Art, Chorus, Drama / Speech Club, Journalism and Junior Miss.

3.) Funding: Special recreational/hobby/extracurricular activity expenditures are not always reimbursed. This includes the purchase or rental of equipment and membership and participation in organized groups, such as the Y, Scouts or Little League.

4.) Transportation: If the foster parent has multiple children in their home, this can be an issue.

What was your experience?
Surprisingly, I have heard tales from foster parents about being required to stay with their foster child (or teenager) throughout the duration of extracurricular activities.

Some states have passed a bill allowing foster parents to apply a "prudent parent standard." For those of you who are foster parents, and who read the blog, I would be interested in hearing about your personal experiences.

Sources:
Fong, Rowena and Schwab, James, PhD. Relationship between foster care youth's participation in extracurricular activities and positive placement outcomes. Society for Social Work and Research, University of Texas: Janary 14, 2006.

Postcard from www.fostercarealumni.org "Exploring the Culture of Foster Care"