Updates on policies for foster youth.

From Policy to
Practice:
Making the
Local Control
Funding
Formula Work
for Foster
Youth
Earlier thismonth,
eight
organizations
called on State
Board of
Education
President Michael
Kirst and
Education
Superintendent
Tom Torlakson to
enact a seriesof
measuresthat
would ensure that
recent changes in
how California
fundspublic
education benefit
children and youth
in foster care. As
many following the
issue are aware,
California recently
adopted a policy
to include foster
youth asone of
three at-risk
subgroups
included in the
local control
funding formula
(LCFF)and added
foster youth as a
subgroup to
California’s
academic
performance index
(API).

According to a
joint letter,
organized by the
National Center for
Youth Law, these
changeswill not
havethe intended
effect without
further action on
the partof the
California
Department of
Education (CDE).
First among the
recommendations
of thegroup
includes fully
implementing a
statelaw that
requires the CDE
to inform local
education
agencies(LEAs)
which of their
students are in
foster care. A
second important
action required is
modifying Local
Control
Accountability
Plan templates to
requirespecific
information about
how districts will
serve foster youth
and collaborate
with local child
welfare agencies.
To read the full set
of
recommendations,
follow this LINK.
To read recent
coverage ofthis
issue in EdSource,
follow this LINK.

News!

implementation
for youth in the
juvenile
delinquency
system remains
uneven, due to
pocketsof
misinformation
that often
prevent youth
from accessing
these critical
services.

Please join the
John Burton
Foundation on
Thursday,
November 21st
from 10:00 to
11:30 a.m. for a
web seminar to
address this
misinformation
and ensure that
youth in
California’s
juvenile
probation
system have
equal access to
extended foster
care.

AngieSchwartz
of theAlliance
for Children’s
Rights and Brian
Blalock ofBay
Area Legal Aid
will be
presenting and
will cover the
issues of
eligibility,
placement,and
benefits along
with discussing
courses of
action taken by
judges,
probation
officersand
other youth
allies that may
inadvertently
limitaccess to
extended foster
carefor youth in
the juvenile
probation
system. Most
importantly,
ample time will
be provided to
answer your
specific
questions,which
maybe
submitted in
advance or live
during theweb
seminar.

If anyone is interested

Some Wise Words !

If you stand for nothing you'll fall for everything.