Foster Care 101

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Foster Care 101

• For Educators

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David Ray, Region 10 ESC

• McKinney-Vento/ Homeless Education and Foster
  Care Consultant
• David.Ray_at_Region10.org
• 972.348.1786
• www.Region10.org/fostercare
• www.Region10.org/MVH

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TEA Contacts

• http//www.tea.state.tx.us/FosterCareStudentSucces
  s/
• Federal State Education PolicyFoster Care
  Education Policy CoordinatorKelly
  Kravitz512-463-9235Kelly.Kravitz_at_tea.state.tx.us
  fostercareliaison_at_tea.state.tx.us

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Agenda

1. What is Foster Care
2. Data Statistics
3. Timeline of Efforts
4. What are the Laws

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(No Transcript)
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DFPS- Department of Family and Protective
Services

• The Texas Department of Family and Protective
  Services (DFPS) protects children and adults who
  are elderly or have disabilities and regulates
  child care. 
• Adult Protective Services
• Child Protective Services
• Child Care Licensing
• Prevention and Early Intervention

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CPS- Child Protective Services

• Child Protective Services responsibilities
  include
• Investigating reports of abuse and neglect of
  children.
• Providing services to children and families in
  their own homes.
• Placing children in foster care.
• Providing services to help youth in foster care
  make the transition to adulthood.
• Placing children in adoptive homes.

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Substitute Care

• Temporary Managing Conservatorship (TMC) DFPS
  may be the TMC while the agency works with the
  family on a reunification plan or
• Permanent Managing Conservatorship (PMC) DFPS
  may be named the PMC for a child until custody is
  given to another individual or until the youth
  turns 18.

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Substitute Care Types

• Formal Placement

• Informal Placement

• Foster Family Home
• Foster Group Home
• Residential Treatment Facilities
• Kinship Placement

• Relative Care
• Non-relative Care
• Emergency Shelters

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Timeline

• 2008 Fostering Connections to Success and
  Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, Public Law
  110-351
• 2010 Supreme Court of TX orders Childrens
  Commission
• Texas Blueprint (Consensus of this group)
• 18 month period of listening to each other
• 2013 Education Portion of the Childrens
  Commission awarded grant
• 2014 Foster Care and Student Success

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2008 Fostering Connections to Success and
Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, Public Law
110-351

• This law requires state child welfare agencies to
  collaborate with their state and local education
  agencies to promote school stability and improve
  educational outcomes for children in foster care.
  (Chapter 1, pgs. 14-15)
• Education provisions in Fostering Connections to
  Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008
  include
• Emphasis on the importance of school stability,
  maintaining the school in which the child was
  enrolled at the time of placement, and the need
  for coordination between state and regional child
  welfare and state and local education agencies.
• Assurance that the placements take into account
  the appropriateness of the current education
  setting and proximity to the school in which the
  child is enrolled at the time of placement in
  foster care.
• If remaining in the same school is not in the
  childs best interest, the child welfare and
  local education agencies will work together to
  ensure immediate and appropriate enrollment and
  provide ALL of the childs education records to
  the new school.

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2010 Supreme Court of TX orders Childrens
Commission

• In 2010, the Supreme Court of Texas issued an
  Order Establishing the Education Committee of the
  Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth
  and Families (Childrens Commission). The
  Education Committee a high-level group of court,
  education and child welfare decision-makers
  created a collaborative initiative designed to
  improve educational outcomes of children and
  youth in the Texas foster care system. The order
  resulted in over 100 court, education and child
  welfare stakeholders coming together over an
  18-month period to listen and learn from each
  other, discuss and debate about the issues, and
  ultimately develop recommendations to improve
  educational outcomes of children and youth in
  foster care.
• The core focus areas were
• School Readiness,
• School Stability and Transitions,
• School Experience,
• and Post Secondary Education.

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2010 Supreme Court of TX orders Childrens
Commission

• The Education Committee reached consensus on many
  recommendations, which ranged from changes to
  daily practices, modifications to education and
  child welfare policy, and amendments to Texas
  legal framework. The recommendations, as
  implemented, will impact education, child
  welfare, and judicial practices, and will spur
  multi-disciplinary training, cross-agency data
  exchange, child-specific information sharing, and
  cross-system collaborations.
• The Texas Blueprint was submitted to the Supreme
  Court of Texas on May 3, 2012. The
  recommendations are included in the Final Report
  of the Education Committee, The Texas Blueprint 
  Transforming Education Outcomes for Children
  Youth in Foster Care.

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2010 Supreme Court of TX orders Childrens
Commission

• Guiding Principle 1  Children and youth in
  care are entitled to remain in the same school
  when feasible.
• Guiding Principle 2  Children and youth in
  care experience seamless transitions between
  schools.
• Guiding Principle 3 Young children in care
  receive services and interventions to be ready to
  learn.
• Guiding Principle 4  Children and youth in
  care have the opportunity and support to fully
  participate in all developmentally appropriate
  activities and all aspects of the education
  experience.
• Guiding Principle 5  Children and youth in
  care have supports to prevent school dropout,
  truancy, and disciplinary actions, and to
  reengage in the education experience.
• Guiding Principle 6  Children and youth in
  care are involved, empowered and prepared to
  self-advocate in all aspects of their education.
• Guiding Principle 7 Children and youth in care
  have consistent adult support to advocate for and
  make education decisions.
• Guiding Principle 8 Children and youth in care
  have support to enter and complete post-secondary
  education.

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2013 Education Portion of the Childrens
Commission awarded grant

• As a result of collaborative work led by the
  Childrens Commission Education Committee, Texas
  was one of ten sites awarded a 17-month federal
  Childrens Bureau demonstration grant, Child
  Welfare Education System Collaboration to
  Increase Educational Stability.
• The grant assisted Texas Education Agency (TEA)
  in building capacity and collaboration with the
  Childrens Commission and Department of Family
  and Protective Services (DFPS) to address
  improving the education outcomes of students in
  foster care.

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2014 Foster Care and Student Success

• TEA developed a premiere resource to support
  Texas schools in addressing the education of
  students in foster care Texas Foster Care
  Student Success Resource Guide (PDF, 7.67 MB).
  This guide is the product of collaboration with
  the Texas Department of Family and Protective
  Services, the Supreme Court of Texas, and the
  Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth
  and Families (Children's Commission). This
  e-guide and training manual contains a variety of
  key researched-based topics and calls attention
  to important matters related to the education of
  students in foster care.  The guide promotes best
  practices and contains numerous tips, tools,
  resources and links to more information.
• TEA desires that the guide be widely used and
  distributed! Please share with your districts,
  schools and networks. The guide is available in a
  variety of formats. 

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Data sharing and data collection requirements in
PEIMS - TEC 7.029

• (Chapter 1, p. 16 Chapter 5, pgs. 45-46)

102 Record Column 30
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Immediate school enrollment without records - TEC
25.002(g)

• (Chapter 7, p. 56)
• Free eligibility for PRE-K - TEC 29.153(b)(6)
  (Chapter 10, p. 74)

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Previous School

• Attendance in the school the student was enrolled
  immediately before entering conservatorship, even
  when placed outside of the district attendance
  zone, until the student successfully completes
  the highest grade level offered by the school -
  TEC 25.001(g) (Chapter 8, p. 62)
• 11th or 12th grade student who transfers to a new
  school district and does not meet the graduation
  requirements of the new school district may
  request a diploma from the former school
  district, when on-track to graduate at the
  previous school - TEC 28.025 (Chapter 9, p. 92)

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Student Success

• Excused absences for court-ordered appointments -
  TEC 25.087 (Chapter 10, p. 75)
• Accelerated instruction (at-risk indicators and
  compensatory education) - TEC 29.081(d)(11)
  (Chapter 6, p. 51 Chapter 11, pgs. 82-83)
• Transition Assistance from one school to another
  of students in foster care - TEC 25.007
  (Chapter 11, pgs. 84-91)
• School districts and open enrollment charter
  schools are required to appoint a Foster Care
  Liaison and notify TEA of their Foster Care
  Liaison appointment - TEC 33.904 (Chapter 5, p.
  44)

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Free lifetime college tuition and fees waiver!

• The waiver is activated when a student enrolls in
  dual credit or another course where a student may
  earn college credit- TEC 54.366 (Chapter 13,
  pgs. 104-106)

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(No Transcript)
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Nutrition

• Students in foster care are categorically
  eligible for all U.S. Department of Agriculture
  (USDA) child nutrition programs. Caregivers for
  children and youth in foster care do not have to
  complete a separate application to participate in
  these programs (Chapter 10, p. 74).

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Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
- Uninterrupted Scholars Act (USA)

• An amendment to FERPA, Uninterrupted Scholars Act
  (January 2013), allows educational agencies and
  institutions to disclose a students education
  records, without parental consent, to child
  welfare case workers or other representatives of
  a state or local child welfare agency when such
  agency or organization is legally responsible for
  the care and protection of the student (e.g. DFPS
  staff, the childs caregiver, attorney ad litem,
  CASA and others identified by the court order).
  Additionally, USA permits educational agencies
  and institutions to disclose a students
  education records pursuant to a court order
  without requiring additional notice to the parent
  by the educational agency or institution if the
  court has already given the parent notice as a
  party in specified types of court proceedings.
  These changes also apply to the confidentiality
  provisions identified in Individuals with
  Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). School staff
  should follow FERPA regulations when releasing
  school-related information (Chap 9, pgs. 70-71).