Tools and Links to Related Materials
Reports
The A, B, C’s of Transition
and the Independent Living Program
Informational Manual for Transitioning Foster Youth and Their Caregivers
This manual will give youth an understanding of the resources available
for the transition to adulthood. There are many services available,
such as continued Medi-cal coverage (health insurance), tuition,
tutoring, and scholarship opportunities. A product of the Children's
Rights Project, the manual is written in a clear, easy-to-read style
and is addressed directly to the Foster Youth reader.
DownloadPDF file here: 
California Foster
Youth Education Summit
The California Foster Youth Education Task
Force is a statewide coalition of
more than 25 organizations dedicated to addressing the educational
needs of
children and youth in foster care. This report provides a summary
of the recommendations to improve foster youth education success
in California derived from the 2007 summit conference.
DownloadPDF file here: 
California Youth Connection Speak Out Report
This report addresses the needs of foster youth in California and provides concrete recommendations for immediate change from the perspectives of current and former foster youth.
Download PDF file here: 
H.R. 6893 Fact Sheet
H.R. 6893, the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, was one of several recent bills signed by the President. This will open the door to federal support for youth to age 21-- ending the trend in many states to push youth out of foster care at 18. Other provisions in the bill will enhance the ability to find, approve and support relative caregivers, increase efforts to preserve sibling ties, and mandate better attention to the educational and health needs of youth in care.
Download a
summary of the key provisions in the bill in PDF format: 
Helping Your Child Succeed in School: An Education Handbook for Parents and Caregivers of Children and Youth in the Foster Care System
Developed in partnership by the Foster Children and Youth Educational Technical Assistance and the Mental Health Advocacy Services, Inc., May 2006
Download PDF file here: 
Hopes & Hurdles:
California Foster Youth and College Financial Aid
This report examines why surprisingly
few California foster youth who apply for student aid receive
all the grants they should, and some recommendations to address
the situation.
Download
the report in PDF format here: 
National Blueprint for Reentry
Model policies to promote the successful reentry of individuals with
criminal records through employment and education. Published by the
Legal Action Center,
National H.I.R.E. Network,
October 2008
Download the report in PDF
format here: 
School or the Streets: Crime and California's
Drop-out Crisis
By Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California, 2007
Download PDF file here: 
Youth in the Los Angeles County Juvenile Justice System: Current Conditions and Possible Directions for Change
By The Los Angeles County Children’s Planning Council, April 2006
Download PDF file here: 
Los Angeles County
Children's Planning Council
Juvenile Justice Recommendations
By The Los Angeles County Children's Planning Council, November 2007
Download PDF file here: Los Angeles County
Children's Planning Council
Higher Education Opportunities for Foster Youth: A Primer for Policymakers
by The Institute for Higher Education Policy, December 2005
Download PDF file here:
Foster Care Education Fact Sheets
developed by the California Foster Youth Education Task Force
Download PDF file here:
Foster Care and Education
Q&A
developed by the American Bar Association
and Casey Family Programs
Download
PDF file here:
County of Los Angeles Probation Department Education Reform Project
The report concerning the approval of comprehensive educational reform recommendations and a preliminary action plan for implementation at probation camps and juvenile halls.
Download PDF file here:
AB 490 training materials
Access materials here: 
2003 and 2004 Los Angeles County Education Summit reports
Download 2004 Education Summit Report PDF here:
Download 2003 Education Summit Report PDF here:
Stuart Foundation:
Teacher Voices
Some of the nation’s leading scholars
and philanthropic organizations selected a dozen foster care
experts to discuss what we know — and don’t know — about
improving educational outcomes for children and youth in foster
care. These experts represent a wide range of experience and
perspective including that of an urban county school superintendent,
a juvenile court judge, an attorney, a pediatric mental health
clinician, a social service director, and several university-based
researchers.
Ready to Succeed is a bold plan to close the
educational achievement gap for children and youth in foster care.
Based upon the best research available, it designs and tests interventions
at demonstration sites, assists policymakers and practitioners
to carry out promising policies and practices, and addresses data
collection and sharing challenges. Likewise, it is a call for more
and better
research to strengthen the evidence for what works.
Grappling with the Gaps is a starting place.
It sets the groundwork to suggest new research priorities for
improving policies and practices related to the educational
outcomes of children and youth in foster care. Its sole source
of information is interviews conducted during the winter of
2009 with 12 foster care experts who differ in familiarity
with education, child welfare, and related policy and practice
issues. Collectively they describe “research
lags,” “holes,” “gaps in knowledge,” “a
paucity of research on educational outcomes,” and “lack of evidence-based
practices” contributing to the generally dismal educational outcomes Ready
to Succeed aims to turn around.
Download Ready to Succeed in
PDF format: 
DownloadGrappling with
the Gapsin PDF format: 
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Service Lists
Current Education Liaisons appointed for all of the school districts in Los Angeles County.
For foster youth in one of these districts, these are the point people to call.
Download County Education Liaisons list in PDF here:
Foster Youth Services Workers who serve foster youth in particular areas. If a youth is looking for tutoring services, having trouble locating their transcripts or in need of other educational advocacy, these are the people they should be calling.
Download Foster Youth Services Workers list in PDF here:
Download Foster Youth Services brochure as a PDF here:
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Websites
Click on the name of the Web site to go directly to that site's Home Page.
American Bar Association |
This website provides users with a searchable database of legal and policy resources and houses announcements of events and newly developed information. The Web site contains three significant components to assist anyone who is interested in legal issues surrounding education of children and youth in care: a Resource Clearinghouse, a National Foster Care/Education Listserv, and Topical Conference Calls. |
Children's Planning Council
Information on Service Planning Area (SPA) efforts and ways to connect with local networks. Find latest publications and data on Los Angeles County's children and families.
Chapin Hall
Research on foster and probation youth, including their educational performance and long-term outcomes.
Child Welfare Services - CWS/CMS Reports
Timely and useful data about children in the California Child Welfare System.
Children’s Law Center of Los Angeles
Current information about AB 490, AB 408, and other key legislation affecting foster youth in California, as well as current initiatives and training materials.
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Formerly the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information and the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse, Child Welfare Information Gateway provides access to information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families. A service of the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Common Good Forecaster
The Common Good Forecaster: Exploring the
Impact of Education in Your Community is an online database created
and developed by United Way and the American Human Development Project
This interactive site allows the user to
see how differing levels of education (less than high school, high
school, some college , college graduate and more) impacts other
areas of well being, including health (life expectancy in years,
low birth weight, obesity and homicide rate), financial stability
(poverty, median personal earnings, unemployment), civic participation
(voter turnout) and more. Data can be manipulated for each state
and for states’ counties.
Foster Care Alumni of America
The mission of Foster Care Alumni of America is to connect the alumni community and to transform policy and practice, ensuring opportunity for people in and from foster care.
 |
Living Advantage, Inc. is a non-profit organization founded by Bernice W. Clay to carry out her mission to help underprivileged youth in areas of special education, severe emotional and behavioral problems, and speech impediments. |
Surrogate
Parents in California Special Education Manual
Federal
and state laws mandate that a child receiving special education programs
and services be represented by a parent who is recognized as an equal
member of the team that develops the child’s Individualized
Education Program (IEP.) This prepublication release of the revised
manual to train surrogate parents to serve as child representatives
in California Special Education provides information to local
education agencies (LEAs), Special Education Local Plan Areas (SELPAs),
parent and family centers, and volunteers who are willing to serve
as surrogates on when and how a surrogate parent may be appointed.
Zero to Three
Research on children ages birth to 3 years, public policy initiatives, and training materials.
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