Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/94609
ment," says Sales. "We just want to be treated like anyone else. We don't want a fuss; we don't want to be the center of attention." Sales is one of nearly 60,000 children in foster care, which includes young- sters living in group homes as well as traditional foster homes. In addition to being separated from biological parents, they often are separated from siblings. At 18, Sales would have "aged out" of the foster care system if not for a law passed last January that allows youths to stay in foster care up to age 20. They must meet eligibility requirements of completing high school, being enrolled at least half time in college or a voca- tional program, or being employed at least 80 hours a month. The law addresses high dropout and homeless- ness rates of foster youths forced out of the system. School District. "We want to give children stability, to be in a school where they can grow roots, make friends, get involved and be successful. They need to fit in and belong somewhere. RECORDS, RECORDS, WHERE ARE THE RECORDS? "School may be the most stable place in these kids' lives," says Gail Johnson, foster youth liaison for the Kern High New laws have made that easier: AB 490 and companion bill AB 1933 expand students' right to remain in their "school of origin" despite changes in foster placement so they won't lose school credits or their friends. Transportation costs must be reimbursed to foster parents by the social service agency if the school district does not cover them. "I want to make sure foster kids have " Foster children average three different placements, and nearly half do not return to live with their biological families. the right classes and receive all the cred- its they deserve when they come into my district," says Johnson, Kern High School Teachers Association. But it is challenging when foster youth arrive without school records. According to state law, schools are supposed to trans- fer students' records within two days. But that doesn't always happen, says Foster children are estimated to lose six months of emotional development with each new placement. So a 14-year-old with four lifetime placements may be closer in age emotionally to a 12-year-old. Don't expect a foster child to trust you immediately. Johnson. "Students must be enrolled whether they have school records or not. So a counselor may talk to the student, who says 'I took English' or 'I took history, LISA GUZMAN but that is not as accurate as it could be. Was it regular, reme- dial or college prep English?" Johnson works closely with social workers and the Depart- ' ment of Human Services to help foster kids get the classes and extra support they need, including tutoring and counseling. Biological parents can be involved in a child's educational deci- sions, depending upon specifics of the individual cases. Foster kids repeat a grade twice as often as other students. Experiences of grief, trauma and uncertainty can make it dif- ficult for a foster child to focus in the classroom. They score 15 to 20 percent below other kids on California's standardized tests. Nationally, children from minority groups are overrepresented in the foster care population. African American and Latino students in foster care are roughly half as likely to achieve proficiency on the math and English CSTs as white students in foster care. Thirty-seven percent of foster youth drop out of high school, compared with 16 percent of the general population. Within 18 months of aging out of the system, up to 50 percent of foster youth become homeless. (From a variety of sources.) "I have personally told juvenile court judges that we don't have the manpower to hunt for the parents. It's frustrating. In my county, 99 percent of the time a judge leaves education deci- sions to the biological parents." "These kids come without a lot of documentation, and teach- "We can't find parents, more often than not," says Johnson. ers have no background on how to deal with them," says Carol Locke, a teacher at Marshall Fundamental Secondary School located in Pasadena, which has a high percentage of foster homes. WHEN CHILDREN ARE USED TO BEING IN CONTROL, IT'S CHALLENGING FOR EDUCATORS Little things can trigger big reactions. Teachers see students go into a panic after seeing a white car outside the classroom win- dow because they feared it was someone coming to take them away. A teacher's pat on the back for a job well done caused a student to jump out of his chair, scream obscenities and assume a fighting position because he had been physically abused. THERE ARE NEARLY 60,000 CALIFORNIA CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE. November 2012 www.cta.org 9