School Success K-12
Tools and resources to support achievement of good grades, earn a degree/diploma while thoroughly learning the
materials that can increase the ability to pursue higher education or find a job.
Caregiver Resources
- iFoster
iFoster is a national non-profit organization with over 40,000 members across all 50 states, Guam, and Puerto
Rico. iFoster’s mission is to ensure that every child growing up outside of their biological home has the
resources and opportunities they need to become successful, independent adults.
- Treehouse
Treehouse is a group of social workers that are committed to providing youth in foster care with the academic
and other essential support they need to graduate from high school at the same rate as their peers with a plan
for their future.
Core Services – School Readiness and School Success
- Short Term Residential Treatment Programs (STRTPs)
All foster family agencies provide core services to foster youth in care, such as education, physical,
behavioral, mental health, extracurricular supports, and transition to adulthood services. All of the services
are culturally relevant and trauma-informed.
Transportation and School Stability
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), contains key
protections to promote the educational stability and success of students in foster care. These protections help
ensure that students experience minimal disruptions in their education, avoid gaps in school attendance, and receive
the opportunities and support that they need to succeed.
The Frequently Asked Questions on the California Department of
Education
Foster Youth Education
Rights web page
may be helpful in answering questions regarding transportation to school of origin for
students in foster care. For more information regarding ESSA and the educational stability requirements for students
in foster care, please visit the
ESSA
Update #6 letter
(released on January 18, 2017). For additional information, please contact Paula Evans
from the California Department of Education by emailing
pevans@cde.ca.gov.
Developmental and Health Care Services
Regional Center Offices in California
Regional centers are nonprofit private corporations that contract with the Department of Developmental Services to
provide or coordinate services and supports for individuals with developmental disabilities. They have offices
throughout California to provide a local resource to help find and access the many services available to individuals
and their families.
California Department of Education Resources
- Foster Youth Services
Foster Youth Services Coordinating Programs provide support services to foster children who suffer the traumatic
effects of displacement from family and schools.
CDSS Letters and Information Notices
All County Letters (ACLs)
- ACL No. 16-84 Child and Family Team
This ACL provides information and guidance regarding the use of child and family teaming to deliver child
welfare services (including education services), as required by Assembly Bill 403, commonly known as the
Continuum of Care Reform.
All County Information Notices (ACINs)
- ACIN I-80-04 Documentation of
the Educational Needs of Children Receiving In-Home Services and Children in Foster Care
The purpose of this ACIN is three fold. First, it is to emphasize the importance for social workers, probation
officers, or other responsible personnel to document in the case file or Child Welfare Services/Case Management
System when the educational needs of children and youth receiving in home services are assessed, and to document
how the identified needs were addressed. Second, this notice also briefly outlines the requirements of Assembly
Bill 490, Chapter 862, Statutes of 2003, which imposes new duties and rights related to the education of
dependents and wards in foster care. Finally, this notice also informs counties of a new Educational Advocacy
Curriculum that has been developed by the Northern Regional Training Academy.
- ACIN No. I-15-19: Available Education-Related
Resources
The purpose of this ACIN is to provide information about the production of several education-related resources
for youth in foster care as well as the various professionals and adults who serve them. These resources include
the following: a new CDSS foster youth education webpage, education resource cards, a protocol document,
education-related topic contacts, and the Education Travel Reimbursement Informational Brochure for Caregivers.
Additional CDSS Resources
State and Federal Laws Pertaining to Foster Youth and Education
- Every Student
Succeeds Act (Public Law 114-95) (2015)
This law reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Of 1965 and replaces No Child Left Behind Act
of 2001. The purpose of the law is to provide all children significant opportunities to receive a fair,
equitable, and high-quality education and to close educational achievement gaps.