A BOLD POLICY AGENDA
Working in close concert with our demonstration sites, we create conditions for scale and state impact by developing and executing a bold policy agenda in each of the states we operate.
FosterEd led a coalition of organizations that advocated for the inclusion of foster youth educational stability provisions – including protections for students to remain in their school of origin, be immediately enrolled in school, and receive transportation to school – and data reporting requirements in the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), signed by President Obama in December 2015.
Other examples of these successes include:
Arizona
- Successfully advocated for the passage of Arizona House Bill 2665 (HB 2665), which created and funded the Foster Youth Education Success Program beginning in summer 2017. HB 2665 will expand our Pima County demonstration site statewide.
California
- Led a coalition of organizations that advocated for the inclusion of achievement and funding provisions specific to students in foster care in California’s school funding system, the Local Control Funding Formula, to increase resources and supports that focus on students in foster care.
- Led the charge to pass California Assembly Bill 854, which changed the state’s Foster Youth Services Coordinating Program (FYSCP), such that FYSCP now serves a greater portion of foster youth, including youth living in relative placements and living at home under a family maintenance plan and increased funding to address this need.
- Working with California’s State Education Agency and State Child Welfare Agencies to better leverage Title IV-E dollars to increase education case management services for foster youth and develop interagency data agreements to better support the needs of the local communities.
- Transitioned our Santa Cruz County, California demonstration site to a publicly child welfare and education funded program of the county office of education. A team of one program manager and three education liaisons continue to serve youth in Santa Cruz County.
Indiana
- Transitioned our demonstration site in Marion County, Indiana to a publicly funded, statewide program of the Indiana child welfare agency. Education Liaisons now serve students across the state.
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