Date: 10/26/2015
Final
Early Learning Challenges Faced by Homeless and Foster Youth
EARLY CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOL READINESS
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01:49 PM -- Early Learning Challenges Faced by Homeless and Foster Youth
Victoria Black, representing Advocates for Children, introduced herself. She spoke about her experiences in foster care, how early childhood is critical to future success, and how children not reading by grade level in third grade are unlikely to graduate from high school. She spoke about significant challenges to homeless families and foster children, and described three of the largest barriers to educational success for those children:
1. Trauma: Ms. Black said that children in out-of-home placement are in traumatic settings already. She described children from ages 0 to 5 as having no understanding of why they have been removed from their families or lost their homes, and having no idea what the future will bring. She described studies that show that victims of early childhood trauma develop unique attachments to parents, so they are more attuned to the safety of their parents than their own needs. She said that early childhood trauma is likely to cause regression of speech or life skills, that children may lose control over emotions, have more outbursts, or withdraw or stop speaking. She described how children use post-traumatic play to work through emotions and said there is a need for training for early childhood educators.
2. Educational Stability: Ms. Black stated that this is a problem for foster children of all ages. She described how unstable placements make it harder for children to form attachments. She said that while homeless children are still likely to be with their parents and connected to family, foster children more likely to attach to teachers, rather than foster parent or caseworker. She said that in unstable placements, children cannot attach to teachers. She described problems with educational support at home for foster children. She spoke about how children who do not grow up in poverty and who live with their parents are read to and spoken to, and that the state would benefit from more supportive programs for foster parents. She spoke about the benefits of reading programs, similar to visiting nurse programs, for foster parents and homeless parents.
3. Opportunity: Ms. Black spoke about prioritizing preschool for foster children. She explained that many foster parents and caseworkers do not feel it is their responsibility to ensure preschool enrollment for foster children. She said that preschools and early childhood centers are competitive and have waiting lists, and that foster youths will not be enrolled if no slots are available the day a foster parent or caseworker attempts to enroll them. She spoke about the importance of reading programs and said that kindergarten should be mandatory for foster children, even though it is not mandatory for all children in Colorado. She discussed the cost of preschool and explained that foster parents and homeless families cannot pay the requisite fees. She spoke about transportation, and explained that transportation is guaranteed for homeless children so they can stay in their schools, but that this is not true for all foster children.
Ms. Black discussed statistics relating to educational attainment for foster children. She said that the mobility rate for foster children in Colorado's K-12 schools is 42.8 percent, while it is 33.2 percent for homeless children, 14.7 percent overall, and 5.3 percent for gifted and talented students. She stated that the state's graduation rate is 27.5 percent for foster children, and 50.4 percent for homeless children. Ms. Black said that Colorado should prioritize preschool and make sure kids are being read to during their early childhood years. She suggested that the best way to support educational stability is area permanence and spoke about a foster child named Jasper, who was removed from his home in Greeley, spent a few weeks in Greeley foster care, then was moved to Colorado Springs. She said that a major problem is a lack of adequate foster homes and that in Colorado, the number of foster homes has decreased in the last four years. She described how children are moved across the state on a regular basis because there are not enough open beds for foster children.
Senator Merrifield asked how to raise the number of foster homes. Ms. Black replied that foster parents are not given adequate support to raise children, that taking in a foster child is a significant financial burden in addition to added responsibility. Representative Singer responded that counties are responsible for licensure of foster homes and that there has been an increase in scrutiny on who gets licensed as a safeguard of foster children's safety. He stated that a lack of wraparound services and respite care make it difficult to recruit foster parents and that there may be different solutions for different counties. Ms. Black responded that the best placement for a child is often a kinship placement, but that these bring no monthly subsidy to assist foster parents in providing for children. Representative Wilson asked how the state could address traumatic removals. Ms. Black responded that removals are decreasing, but there will always be trauma involved with removal and stated that Colorado needs to do better at trying to keep children in their schools.
Representative Pettersen spoke about the need for increasing preschool slots. Ms. Black responded that subsidized kindergarten exists, but foster children have no mother involved; instead they have a team of people who may point fingers at each other rather than getting children enrolled in preschool or full-day kindergarten. She pointed out that it is not just a matter of the number of slots, but that educational outcomes need to be an administrative priority of the foster system.