Goal 7
Youth Have A Supportive Adult Invested in Their Education During and After Time in Out-of-Home Care
Youth need supportive adults to help them achieve their education goals and pursuits. It is critical that all students, and in particular students with disabilities, have an available adult who has the authority to make education decisions on their behalf. It is also critical that youth have adults available to advocate for their rights and needs, and to serve as mentors as they navigate the educational system. Trauma-sensitive training and a full understanding of federal disability law is necessary for any adult who advocates for a child in care or serves as a surrogate parent or authorized decision maker.
Benchmarks
A. Youth are entitled to have a knowledgeable and trained education advocate who reinforces the value of the youth’s investment in education and helps the youth plan for post-school training, employment, or college; efforts must be made to recruit appropriate individuals (i.e., foster parents, birth parents, child welfare caseworkers, teachers, and guidance counselors).
B. Youth exiting care (because of age or because their permanency objectives have been reached) have significant connections to at least one adult to help the youth continue education pursuits.
C. Youth have an education decision maker at all times during a child welfare case, who is trained in the legal requirements relating to education decisions for children with and without disabilities.
D. Youth with disabilities who are eligible for the appointment of a surrogate parent have access to a pool of qualified, independent, and well-trained individuals who can serve in that role, and are assigned a surrogate in a timely manner, but no later than 30 days after a determination that a surrogate is needed.
What the Data Tells Us
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A growing body of research indicates that having supportive adults and advocates, which can include parents, other family members, foster parents, caseworkers, teachers, children’s attorneys, among others, can help students in foster care succeed in their education.
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Research indicates that students in foster care are less likely to have an advocate present during special education meetings.
Teachers and other strong school staff connections are a key source of support for students in foster care. In one study, youth in foster care reported that teacher social support was the most influential type of support for academic performance and behavioral health in school.
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Studies have found that meaningful relationships with caring adults, such as mentors, are associated with increased postsecondary educational attainment.
Research suggests that having more “institutional agents” like foster parents, social workers, and attorneys that youth identified as being supportive significantly increased their likelihood of enrolling in college.
Forming consistent relationships with caring adults has a positive impact on foster youth’s pursuit of higher education. Supportive adults can provide critical information about preparing for and applying to college, financing college, and successfully navigating the college experience.
For more information about this research, view our brief: Exploring Education Outcomes: What Research Tells Us
Federal Law & Policy
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The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (“Fostering Connections”) seeks to maintain connections between children and family members. This law requires states to identify, locate, and notify relatives when a child is removed or is at risk of removal from the home.
Fostering Connections also requires that youth participate in creating their own transition to adulthood plan and can choose to invite their own representatives to help develop the transition plan. Beginning at age 14, the youth must be allowed to involve two individuals in case planning who are not a foster parent or part of the casework staff. 42 U.S.C. § 675(5)(C)(iv).
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Under Title IV-E, foster parents must be provided with a copy of the education record in the child’s case plan when a child is placed in foster care. 42 U.S. Code § 675(5)(D).
Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), parents have the right to inspect and review their children’s education records. Both custodial and noncustodial parents have this right, unless there is a “court order, legally binding document, or State law that specifically provides to the contrary.”
To facilitate information sharing between child welfare and education agencies, the Uninterrupted Scholars Act (USA) amended FERPA to allow child welfare agencies to access educational records for children in their custody without parental consent. Under the USA exception, schools can share a student’s education records with an agency caseworker or other representative of the state or local child welfare agency if they are “legally responsible…for the care and protection of the student” and have the right to access a student’s case plan.
For examples on how school staff can appropriately share information with supportive adults, see “Educational Information Sharing- What School Staff Need to Know.”
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Under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) federal regulations, certain individuals can be considered an “IDEA parent” for purposes of making education decisions, including a foster parent, guardian, individual acting in place of a biological parent, or an appointed surrogate parent. If a biological parent is attempting to act, they will trump others who meet the parent definition unless a court has issued a decree determining another person to be the IDEA parent.
A surrogate parent is a person who has the rights to make all the special education or early intervention decisions that are usually made by the child’s parent. They do not have any rights outside of the special education system. Surrogate parents can be appointed by an education agency or the court, and state laws vary on when such appointments may occur.
State Law & Policy
Kansas-SOUL Family Legal Permanency: This youth-centered permanency option, signed into law in 2024, allows the court to formally recognize a broader network of caring adults identified by the youth. Importantly, youth achieving permanency under this option maintain access to benefits, including post-secondary education and training.
Washington- RCW 13.34.045: This statute requires an educational liaison for students in grades 6-12 to be identified at each hearing in the dependency process. The liaison is presumed to be the youth’s parent, and if they cannot serve as the liaison, it is preferred to be a relative or someone known to the youth. This person should be committed to providing ongoing educational supports for the youth.
California- AB 740 (2022): This law requires notice to a child’s social worker, attorney, and educational rights holder if a child in foster care is suspended for longer than 1 class period.
