The Children's Stability & Well-Being Study: Assessing Barriers to Educational Success

Background and Purpose: Children in out-of-home placements are at increased risk for a multitude of poor educational outcomes, including late entry into school, lack of support for educational success, and school instability. The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 holds child welfare systems accountable for collaboration with education systems towards improved educational outcomes for children in foster care. Research indicates that the cross-system roles of the child welfare and education systems in promoting positive school outcomes for children in foster care are often not clearly defined. Moreover, little is known about the operational challenges in policy implementation among cross-system stakeholders with the most direct responsibility for children in foster care's well-being. This study engaged these ground-level stakeholders from the child welfare and education systems to solicit information on the barriers, strategies, and daily experiences of working towards the educational success of children in foster care in a large, urban area.

Methods: We performed a focus group study of a purposive sample of adults involved in the child welfare and education systems in a large urban area. We included five populations: foster parents (stratified by kinship caregivers and general foster caregivers); foster care provider agency caseworkers; Department of Human Services caseworkers; teachers; and school counselors. Two focus groups were conducted across each of the populations. Focus groups were led by trained facilitators and used a semi-structured interview guide developed by the research team. The groups lasted 90 minutes and were recorded and transcribed. Transcripts were entered into NVIVO 8 (QSR International, Victoria, Australia) for data management. Analysis was performed by three investigators using modified grounded theory to identify themes.

Results: Ten focus groups were completed with a total of 90 study participants (10% male, 90% female). Experience with the child welfare or education systems ranged from 0-2 years (13%) to more than 10 years (46%). Knowledge and implementation of policies related to the educational needs of children in foster care was highly variable among participants in each population. Across all groups, ineffective and limited cross-system communication was identified as a barrier to educational success. Behavioral problems and behavioral health service provision for children in foster care were concerns shared among all stakeholders. Participants highlighted the perceived relationship of foster care placement and school instability to child behavioral problems.

Conclusions and Implications: Implementation of successful cross-system strategies towards positive educational outcomes for children in foster care is complicated by variability in policy implementation, communication inefficiencies, and issues related to behavioral health. The 2008 Fostering Connections legislation provides an opportunity to develop and implement policies that can successfully mitigate the operational challenges experienced by stakeholders in the child welfare and education systems working with children in foster care to improve their educational success. ->