NCJ Number
196367
Date Published
June 2002
Length
69 pages
Annotation
This article provides information regarding judicial attitudes and available interventions concerning the educational achievement of children and adolescents in foster care.
Abstract
The authors hoped to identify and describe effective programmatic interventions for increasing the educational participation and success of children committed to foster care. Data were collected from a survey administered to the Child Victims Act Model Court lead judges. The study was designed to identify judge’s perceptions concerning the importance of educational achievement among children in foster care, the role that judges themselves should play in promoting such educational achievement, and the level of awareness the judges professed to have concerning programs and resources designed to promote educational achievement. The study data indicated that in general, the study population believed that educational achievement was an important goal for children in foster care. Further, a majority of judges interviewed felt that they played an important role in ensuring that the child’s educational needs would be met. Finally, the majority of judges surveyed indicated that they specified pre-disposition efforts to determine the best approach to the education needs of foster children. Suggestions for changes at the State, local, and policy level for program interventions are made. A technical assistance brief for the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 and the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program are also provided. 8 figures, 9 notes, 3 appendices