Back to School for Foster Youth
While preparing for school in September is an exciting time for most students across the U.S., for foster youth it can be downright scary. Casey Family Programs has reported that 65 percent of those who grew up in foster care changed schools seven or more times from kindergarten through their senior year of high school!
It’s hard enough to change schools once – to find new friends, establish new relationships with teachers, make sure your grades and classes transfer over successfully…imagine doing it seven times!
As reported in Texas’ TODO Austin Magazine (via CASA of Travis County): “Many foster youth will be attending a brand new school this August, and there is no guarantee they will be able to stay there even through the fall semester.”
Thankfully, Texas is one of the states that has established a blueprint for minimizing the trauma and helping foster youth stay in school. But there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done.
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