Group steps up to help Arizona foster children get the education they deserve
An organization called FosterEd wants to make sure all kids in foster kid get some of the help Rodriguez received, even if they never get adopted. The group is working to connect foster kids with mentors in the community to advocate for each child’s educational goals. Those advocates will stay working with that child even if […]
Arizona legislators rally to help foster youth find school success
Arizona Rep. John Allen has sponsored House Bill 2665, which would fund and authorize FosterEd Arizona to expand statewide its services for children in foster care. The bill, which has more than 20 bipartisan sponsors, requires charter schools to give enrollment preference to children who are in foster care, and establishes a statewide Foster Youth […]
Foster children get K-12 champions through Pima County Pilot Program
A Pima County pilot project that improves foster children’s educational outcomes seeks to expand statewide after a recent study found that Arizona’s foster children face many educational challenges. But House Bill 2665, which would do so, remains in committee as the Arizona Legislature works on a budget. Foster children get K-12 champions through Pima County […]
Education data grim for Arizona children in foster care
A recent WestEd report showed that Arizona youth in foster care had educational outcomes far worse than low income children and other at-risk subgroups. “Prior to this year, we never had data that looked at the actual outcomes for foster children around the state,” but this WestEd report “shows how philanthropy, the nonprofit community, our […]
Our View: We are all negligent parents to foster kids
Parents are supposed to get the kids to school, follow up on homework and alert the teachers to particular student needs. This is critical to success. It’s basic. Expected. After all, what kind of parent bounces a child from school to school and does nothing when that child consistently scores far below other kids? Look in the […]
Study of Arizona foster children’s education achievement not encouraging
“This is a report that looks at a lot of data,” said Michelle Traiman, director of FosterEd, a national non-profit serving foster youth. The group raised funding for the report. “There are humans, there are young people behind this data, and their voices, their stories are not just what makes it come alive, but helps […]
Group wants statewide foster child education plan
Proponents of a program that links foster children with education advocates to improve their success in school want the Arizona Legislature to expand a pilot program now used just in Pima County. The director of FosterEd Arizona made the pitch Wednesday to a group of lawmakers at the state Capitol. Former state Rep. Pete Hershberger […]
FosterEd Launched in Pima County
Several Pima County education, child welfare, behavioral health and judicial agencies joined with the National Center for Youth Law yesterday to launch an educational pilot project called FosterEd, which is part of the national FosterEd Initiative to improve the educational outcomes of thousands of school-age foster children living in Pima County. Backers hope it will […]
Court’s program aims to help foster kids succeed in school
On top of whatever problems made them wards of the state, kids placed in foster care are twice as likely to drop out of school or be held back a grade as their peers. Seventy-five percent underperform scholastically. But Pima County Juvenile Court is ready to implement a program designed to improve the educational outcomes […]
