Resources
New CSBA resources to support foster youth in California
The latest in the Students in Focus series provides best practices for this vulnerable student group
Rear view of a young schoolgirl with a ponytail and backpack looking out at a bright, blurred school cafeteria or common area.
CSBA’s Research and Education Policy Development Department recently released two briefs and a fact sheet to support local educational agency governance teams in better serving one of their most vulnerable student groups: foster youth. Combined, these resources provide current data about enrollment and demographics, chronic absenteeism and discipline, and academic achievement and attainment, as well as promising practices for supporting foster youth, questions for governance teams to consider, information about state and federal legislation, and resources.

CSBA Principal Research Manager Angela Asch, who oversaw the development of the briefs, details findings, challenges LEAs face and potential solutions.

Foster youth make up such a small percentage of California’s student enrollment — why is it so important that governance teams center them in their decisions related to funding, programming and policy?
Yes, the foster youth percentage at most LEAs may be small, however, the work of a governance team is to ensure all efforts are made to support achievement for all students. When thinking about the percentage of a specific student group, those numbers are in reference to humans, real students, that need and deserve support.

In addition, two main funding streams support LEAs in this important work. The Local Control Funding Formula provides funding for supports and services for specific student groups including foster youth, and the federal Every Student Succeeds Act provides funding and places responsibility on LEAs to monitor, report and improve the academic outcomes of this specific student group.

Lastly, it is a moral imperative for LEA leaders to care about the outcomes of the students they are entrusted to lead and serve. Foster youth are a vulnerable but capable student group that need extra care and support. Everyone benefits when students are supported and encouraged to achieve all that they can become.

May is National Foster Care Awareness month and I encourage all school board members and LEA leaders to read the briefs, learn more about the needs of foster youth and how to better support them, their caregivers and families in their communities. An awareness month is also an opportunity to review board policies and administrative regulations regarding specific student groups to ensure they are up to date.

What was the most striking finding to you from these briefs?
Several findings are concerning. The academic outcomes are disheartening and a call to action. Graduation rates are lower for foster youth than the state average (69 percent and 88 percent, respectively). We know from research that individuals without a high school diploma struggle more financially and have worse health outcomes (mental and physical) than those individuals that graduate high school. Furthermore, one in four foster youth become homeless after aging out of care.

California offers a safety net for foster youth as they are eligible to attend college for free (tuition, housing and food are covered); this is a huge financial barrier that has been removed. However, foster youth do not complete or have access to college preparatory classes at the same rate as their peers. Being able to attend college for free but not being able to complete the requirements to attend because of lack of access is a disparity that needs to be addressed. The brief highlights steps LEAs can take to ensure that foster youth can access college preparatory coursework, advanced placement courses and career technical education pathways. It is critical that all education leaders and partners work toward improving these outcomes for foster youth.

What are some of the most common challenges you see LEAs facing when it comes to serving foster youth?
Geographic location may limit the resources available in an LEA’s area, staffing and/or funding issues may impact transportation services, and social and emotional supports such as mental health services and mentoring may be limited due to staffing and/or funding constraints.
What best practices included in these briefs address some of these challenges?
In the brief, “Students in Focus: Foster youth in California’s TK–12 education system — promising practices and legislation,” we have highlighted LEAs across the state that have found creative and innovative solutions and utilized unique and/or multi-agency partnerships to address challenges.

Additionally, CSBA is calling on the state for a focused and strategic plan to improve educational outcomes for all students. Academic gains across all student groups has been incremental for many years now. Our Students in Focus research briefs series highlights the needs of specific student groups by highlighting chronic absenteeism rates, disciplinary data, academic achievement and attainment data, as well as best practices and state and federal laws. Of note, according to the California Department of Education, foster youth across the state are performing significantly below standard on all metrics in comparison to their peers. This speaks to the need for a systemic approach from the state to close these significant gaps.

Access CSBA’s new foster youth resources:
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