WASHINGTON, DC-Casey Family Programs and the National Education Association today released recommendations for the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act to improve the educational outcomes of children and youth in out-of-home care. Over 800,000 children and youth are served by foster care each year.
Photo:Danny Davis, Congressman 7th Congressional District of Illinois; William C. Bell, president and CEO of Casey Family Programs; Reg Weaver, president and CEO of the National Education Association

The recommendations, included as part of a comprehensive report released at a congressional briefing Tuesday, deal with the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act and the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. The recommendations are:

• Improve school stability by ensuring that the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act applies to all children in out-of-home care, and increase funding for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to a level that covers all eligible children.
• Ensure that children and youth in foster care have access to education-related support services by making them automatically eligible for Title I, Part A services and including them in the set-aside that exists for homeless children.
• Increase funding for school counselors and mental health services.

"These recommendations are critical to ensuring a stable school environment for our foster youth, something most of them currently lack and that is instrumental to educational attainment," said William C. Bell, president and CEO of Casey Family Programs. "Our children and youth in foster care deserve better than the educational outcomes they currently face. We must be steadfast in working to provide them hope and success for their future."

Research shows that school mobility rates are highest for those entering foster care for the first time. According to a study of almost 16,000 children and youth in the Chicago Public Schools, over two-thirds switched schools shortly after their initial placement in out-of-home care. The mobility of children and youth in foster care is affecting their educational outcomes. A University of Chicago study found that, by the sixth grade, students who had changed schools four or more times had lost approximately one year of educational growth.

Overall, children in foster care struggle academically. Only 54 percent of young adults discharged from foster care have completed high school. Even more dismal, 15-year-old students in out-of-home care were about half as likely as other students to have graduated high school five years later, with significantly higher percentages of students in care having dropped out (55 percent) or been incarcerated (10 percent).

"We are pleased to see the recommendations of Casey Family Programs to revamp NCLB because we believe all three of their recommendations would strengthen the law so that all children-especially children in the foster care system-have the educational opportunities they deserve," said Reg Weaver, president of NEA. "We must ensure that students in the foster care system have the same opportunities as other students. The recommendations outlined in the report are key steps that will support student learning."

The recommendations are designed to address the academic challenges of children and youth in foster care by specifically dealing with the issue of school stability. Currently, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, part of the No Child Left Behind Act, only applies to homeless youth or youth who are "awaiting foster care placement." The act provides eligible students with numerous specific educational rights and benefits, including educational stability.

It allows for children to remain in their school of origin, when feasible, and provides transportation to allow for that continuity. The term "awaiting foster care placement" has not been defined in federal law or regulations, resulting in different definitions across states and jurisdictions. In order to eliminate this confusion, the law should be expanded to ensure all children in out-of-home care will be covered by its services and protection.

The final recommendations call for increased funding to provide a variety of support services that are critical to children in foster care and other students who are at the greatest risk of failing to meet state standards. Some of the services that would have the most immediate impact and long-lasting results are elementary and secondary school counseling programs, as well as grants to improve the mental health of children with funding targeted to high-poverty school districts. In addition, students in foster care should be automatically eligible for the Title I, Part A services - including set-asides - to which they are entitled.

For more information on No Child Left Behind, please visit www.nea.org/esea.

About NEA The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing 3.2 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.