Ttitle page

Executive summary

However, this and other consumer studies indicate that at present the care system is more likely
to put additional obstacles in their way than to make any particular effort to compensate for their
earlier disadvan tages

The whole of the present government's education policy is based on the assumption that parents
are intensely concerned about their children's education.

s. It is suggested that local authorities and their social workers need to give the same degree of
primacy to education as do well-informed parents looking after their own children Yet given case
loads, it would be unfair to require such an invested amount of work be required of them.

In contrast, adopted children tended to be in socially advantaged, child-centred families and to

have above average scores on behavioural and cognitive measures. Their previous background was
just as unpromising as that of the in-care group, but it appeared that their disadvantaged start had
been more than compensated for by a 'dramatically improved' family and social situation following
adoption (Osborn & St Claire, 1987, p. xvii). This is interesting in the light of Colton and Heath's
conclusion, from the study reported later in this issue, that only a dramatic improvement in social
circumstances and educational support is likely to enable children in foster care, especially those
who have suffered neglect or abuse, to achieve average levels of attainment.

chool. Research on truancy by Carlen et al. (1992) found that a significant cause of non-
attendance by children in residential or foster care was stigmatising and humiliating treatment by
teachers or bullying and name-calling by other pupils which was ignored by teachers I.e. The
acolyte would be able to perform as mediators within an institution as well, fighting for the
child when things go awry cont: Often children were prevented from attending school regularly
by factors in the care situation, such as case conferences scheduled within school hours or
placement moves with transport arrangements not worked out, so that the young people were seen
as unreliable or unpunctual. Punishment or criticism for 'offences' outside their control made them
disinclined to make the effort to go to school at all.

ys, too, increased emphasis on the product rather than the process of learning could have a
negative impact on the school experiences of 'looked-after' children. 273

The deep split between education and care which runs right through all our institutions and
services for children is undoubtedly one of the main causes of the problems encountered by
children looked after by local authorities, as well as by large numbers of others 'in need'. As several
contributors to this issue show, the good intentions of the Children Act in urging, and even
requiring, collaboration between education and social services, have been largely negated by the
erosion of the role of local education authorities and the introduction of market principles which
make avoidance of expendi ture a top priority. 274 Wilson: Market structure isnt always the
answer
The importance of school in children's lives also emerges clearly. In fact in some circumstances
it can represent the one stable element in a turbulent world 275

In 2015, there were 427,910 youths in foster care. (cite) These children are considered the most

An Overview. The text, or body, of the paper should contain five kinds of information:
1. A description of the policy to be analyzed
2. A description of the social, physical, economic, and political (including legal and institutional)
environments in which the policy has been or will be developed 3. An evaluation of the
effectiveness and efficiency of the current policy 4. An evaluation of alternatives to the current
policy 5. A summary comparison of policy options

In 2015, there were an estimated 427,910 youths in US foster care.1 Since the 1980s, that number
has increased exponentially and does not show signs of slowing. Even more disconcerting is the
fact that foster children have lower average grades and a higher likelihood of dropping out of
school than students within static home environments. These numbers, combine with the fact that
foster children are considered the most [A]t risk for poor life outcomes in American society.2
This reality can be attributed the lack of stability within their home lives. Given the limited
availability of foster parents, children are moved from their biological families homes to foster
homes without district consideration. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for children to suddenly
change foster homes (given numerous scenarios and needs of a foster family.) This results in
regular school transfers, meaning that these children, already within an unstable homelife, are also
without a stable academic life. Educators cannot expect to understand the individual needs of a
child given a first impression, when they have no previous experience with the child (e.g. that child
A cannot have a seat next to a window, or else he/she will not focus on his/her lessons.)
We are requesting funding for our Office of Academic Improvement, wherein we can fund
specific educators that would function as educational acolytes for the children. In effect, the
specified educators will debrief the students new teachers on relevant information regarding the
child, as well as provide specialized tutoring, sensitive to the unique needs of the child.

The 21st Century Community Learning Centers program of the Academic Improvement
office describes its goals as:

[To] support the creation of community learning centers that provide academic
enrichment opportunities during non-school hours for children, particularly students who attend
high-poverty and low-performing schools. The program helps students meet state and local student
standards in core academic subjects, such as reading and math; offers students a broad array of
enrichment activities that can complement their regular academic programs; and offers literacy and
other educational services to the families of participating children.3

1
The AFCARS Report. Childrens Bureau. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for
Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau. June 2016.
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/afcarsreport23.pdf.
2
Lips, Dan. Foster Care Children Need Better Educational Opportunities. Heritage Foundation.
http://www.heritage.org/education/report/foster-care-children-need-better-educational-opportunities?ac=1#_ftnref9.
6/5/07.
3
https://www2.ed.gov/programs/21stcclc/index.html
 I. Policy description
A. A clear, concise statement of the policy
As an organization designed to provide non-school hour support for at risk and low-
income communities, such, we wish to formally recognize children within foster care as such
a community. As such, we would like to offer specialized, afterschool educational instruction
that recognizes the unique needs and situations of specific foster children. We propose an
extension to our program: the Educational Acolyte office of the Office of Academic
Improvement would provide specialized, after-school educators, whose sole agent would be
availability after school hours, (or otherwise flexible schedules) for individualized meetings
and educational opportunities. They would also facilitate useful knowledge to any public
educators new to the child to ensure a strong transition between schools.
B. A brief history of the policy (Irrelevant: should I go into the nature of the current
standing program?)
In New York, a pilot program was tested that hired case managers as school workers that
directly worked with the child and mediated between schools and childrens welfare workers. In
California, there is also a program entitled the Foster Youth Services program, which ensures
smooth transfer of a childs information from school to school as well as providing tutoring for the
children. Yet nothing has been applied at a Federal level to prioritize and legitimize the educational
needs of foster children. Child passport systems.4
C. A description of the problem the policy was aimed at resolving, including an
estimate of its extent and importance (Ibid.)
B. The issue of community within foster care has been highly politicized. Traditionally,
our schools defined community under the assumption that a child will be attending the same school
consistently. However, as of late, we have come to recognize an entire community that functions
outside, and in some cases, contrary to, conventional definitions of community.
C. Foster children offer a unique and widely variable situation. The care providers look for
any home that will accept the children, which can mean parent visitations that require children to
travel across wide distances every day.
D. most any child welfare systems do not systematically monitor the school outcomes of
children in care
II. Policy environment A. A description of the social and physical factors affecting the
origin, development, and implementation of the policy
I. We recruit bona fide educators which puts us in the premium position for offering
educational services for these children. They attend regular special sensitivity
training and receive certification for honoring the specific cultural, religious, etc.
beliefs of these children.
II. Foster children are victims of severe instability. When moved from their homes,
and subsequently their schools, they lose contact with their peers, teachers, family,
and so on. They are then subjected to an entirely new group of people such as social
workers, CASAs (depending on the state,) evaluators, case managers, and more.
They are force to orient themselves to entirely new, and unfamiliar persons along
with a new and unfamiliar home environment. Our Acolyte program would offer a
unique level of stability not inherently present anywhere else in the childs life: a
relationship with someone who will know them before, during and after their

4
Dylan Conger and Marni J. Finkelstein. The Journal of Negro Education. Vol. 72, No. 1. Student Mobility: How
Some Children Get Left Behind. 2003. 100
 moves. This would also be beneficial for the above mentioned case workers who
would otherwise be unattuned to the nuances within a childs behavior.
B. A description of the economic factors affecting the origin, develop-ment, and
implementation of the policy
II. Obviously, this program could have varying costs. Thankfully we already have the
benefit of educators who are trained in sensitivity and respect for all backgrounds. We would,
however, need to provide them with certification to ensure that they understand the unique
situations of foster children.
We must be conscious, that these costs are short term; but our goals are long term. We seek
to build upstanding citizens, lowering the risk that these children will be brought up without
resources or knowledge on how to thrive within the workforce. If successful, we will equip
students with resources and lifelong connections that will lead to an overall boost of our economy.
C. A description of the political factors affecting the origin, development, and
implementation of the policy
Our policy would be fostered within an environment designed to honor and foster respect
for people of all cultures, identities, lifestyles, etc. All of our educators have already met these
qualifications and are well equipped to deal with the many varying backgrounds of foster children.
SO and SO said, Another approach to preventing school transfers is to ensure that
children are placed in their home neighborhoods or in the neighborhood of the previous
placement. While preventing transfers would be the most ideal option, the system into which
these children are thrown is far from ideal. As of 2014, there were 184,000 licensed foster homes
with at least 1 child living with them (compared to the 38 million households in the US that have
one child living in their home.) There is an obvious upset considering around 400,0005 children
within the system. This makes placement very difficult.
Furthermore, foster parents are incentivized to work with children based on ethical reasons.
The average foster home makes $11,937 less than the average home with children, regardless of
government compensation checks.6 Foster parents are paid less than the cost of housing a child.
Finally, problematic policy changes can often lead to a sudden steep drop of foster parents
as occasioned in Washington state with the mandated flu shot.
Certainly, the ideal would be that children would remain in district, but the very limited
number of foster parents squelches this possibility.
III. Effectiveness and efficiency of the current (Similar policies?) policy A. How well the
existing policy does what it was designed to do B. How well the policy performs in relation
to the effort and resources committed to it IY.
paper should follow the outline shown below:
Policy alternatives A. Possible alterations of the present policy, with the estimated costs and
benefits of each
B. Alternatives to the present policy, with the estimated costs and benefits of each
One potential alternative to this program would involve an extension of the bus program.
We could either A) Require bus drivers to accommodate mid-school location changes, or B) We
could have an entire bus dedicated towards picking up all children who have moved outside of the
district. Obviously, we would only accommodate approved cases that would require a childs
initial residence within their schools district. The former option would be less ideal that the
Acolyte program because it would require a worker, or workers, to travel outside of district

5
6
everyday; whereas an Acolyte would have a more flexible, less frequent schedule. The latter is
even more unrealistic given that we cannot anticipate the district a child would move to, nor how
many children could potentially move there. It would be wildly inefficient either way: serving as
a chauffer service for a single child, or wasting a lot in travel time (and subsequent gas, use repairs,
etc.)
V. Summary comparison of policy options

Policy is formulated within a number of environments, the most important of which are the
following:
The social environment: The cultural, ethnic, and religious factors as well as other habits,
practices, expectations, and patterns of relating to one another that every society.establishes
The physical environment: The climate, architecture, topography, natural resources, and other
physical features that shape the patterns of life in a society
The economic environment: The content and vitality of a society's eco-nomic life, including the
type of industry and commerce, the relative wealth or poverty of the area affected by the policy,
the unemployment rate, the rate of economic growth, and so on
The political environment: The government structures, applicable laws, political parties,
prevalent ideologies, and salient issues of the day
(1) the general goals the policy is designed to meet; (2) the specific objectives that lead to
achievement
of the goals; (3) criteria for judging the extent to which the objectives have been met; and ( 4)
specific measurements for quantifying the fulfillment of the criteria.

Address: Efficiency comparison, alternatives

Bibliography
Jackson, Sonia. Oxford Review of Education, Vol. 20, No. 3, The Education of Children in Need
Educating Children in Residential and Foster Care. Taylor and Francis, Ltd. Pdf. 1994.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1050881. Accessed 2/25/17.
Sara Munson and Madelyn Freundlich. National Conference of State Legislatures. Educating
Children in Foster Care: State Legislation 2004-2007. 3/2008. Pdf. Accessed 2/11/17