NCJ Number
193168
Date Published
December 2001
Length
63 pages
Annotation
This report examines foster children's educational outcomes by exploring the relationship between children's foster care experiences and their school performance after entering foster care.
Abstract
A review of past literature has shown that children in foster care have worse education and employment prospects than children in the general student population. However, little is known about who children would live with and for how long and how these decisions would affect a foster child's life chances, as well as their educational outcomes. To address this gap in knowledge and improve children's well-being, the Vera Institute of Justice examined the influence of different foster care experiences on children's educational outcomes by using an interagency database of foster care and education records. Educational outcomes of children placed in foster care were assessed between 1995 and 1999. Four indicators of school performance were included: attendance rates, school transfers, reading exams, and math exams. Educational outcomes were compared based on their foster care experiences, including length of stay in care, type of foster home, runaway history, transfer history, reason for placement, and year of placement. Study findings indicated that foster children have very low attendance rates compared to general student population. However, those attendance rates improved from before to after entry into care. Foster care experiences were seen as influencing attendance rates and school transfers, but had little effect on reading and math scores within the year after placement. The data suggested that the past 5-years of reforms under the Administration for Children's Services (ACS) might have contributed to improvements in attendance rates for some foster children.