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.