Our Foster Youth Services Coordinating Program (FYSCP) is designed to improve academic achievement, reduce discipline problems, and reduce truancy and dropout rates among foster youth.

Need for Services

• Foster youth have critical needs which often go unmet.
• Over 75 percent of foster youth students’ work is below grade level.
• 50 percent are retained at least one year in school.
• Students typically move more than once a year and attend 9-10 different schools before they turn 18.
• A high percentage of students qualify for special education services; however, their high mobility rate interferes with their timely and appropriate placement.
  
  

Services Provided by the Grant

• Acquire health and educational records for youth residing in foster care placement.
• Provide educational mentors for foster youth who face multiple school challenges including advocacy, academic support, and referrals for tutoring.
• Offer staff development training on Special Education, AB 490 and other laws that benefit foster youth.
• Provide technical assistance to districts by supporting academic goals for foster youth as identified in Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAP).
• Provide educational support by participating in Alameda County Social Services Agency Child & Family Team Meetings and Transitional Living Conferences and assistance with school enrollment, transition, and district graduation requirements.

Partial Credit Model Policy

One major barrier to high school graduation is schools’ failure to issue partial credits to foster youth who transfer schools mid-semester, despite laws requiring them to do so. California’s Partial Credit Model Policy: Improving the Educational Outcome of Foster Youth (pdf) provides guidance on how to issue and accept partial credits.