NCJ Number
140004
Journal
Child Welfare Volume: 71 Issue: 5 Dated: (September/October 1992) Pages: 419-427
Date Published
1992
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Linked data bases of two Illinois agencies were analyzed to compare the demographic and service characteristics of children who are both in foster care and receiving special services and to gather information on the handicaps of the foster children who are served by the special education system.
Abstract
Relative to the number of children previously counted as having handicaps (between 600 and 900), 4,282 school-age foster children were found to be receiving special education services. A higher proportion of children are in foster care in Cook County than in the rest of the State, yet a lower proportion of Cook County's foster children receive special education services. The percentage of children in special education programs increases for successively older age groups in the system (except for a slight downturn after kindergarten) until age 15 when it begins a steady decline. The analysis shows that foster children are more likely than other children who receive special education, but are not in foster care to be categorized as emotionally disturbed and mentally retarded and less likely to be categorized as learning or physically disabled. Service, policy, and methodological implications are considered. 11 figures, 1 table, and 4 references