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This is an informative legal and ethical guide about working with students in foster care. This is an important subject to share with educators. Students in foster care face many challenges and barriers that effect their personal, social, and academic development. School counselors can offer this population of students and their teachers resources and supports to help the succeed. The guide will help inform educators of the current problems and suggested solutions to help assist in serving an often overlooked student in foster care.

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An interview was held with a high school head counselor at Kaufman High School in Kaufman, Texas.  Kaufman High School is a neighbor to a children's shelter and has several foster parent providers in the community.  The elementary schools deal with more foster students than the high school level, but several come and go throughout the school year and some have stayed a few.  The school is knowledgeable of one foster parent that takes in older children.  In an honest statements, the counselor stated that they are usually told a student is a foster child.  The problem is usually they are temporarily held at the shelter before records are received and they are moved to a more permanent place.  Records are usually received for students that are in a more permanent placement with a foster family. These students often have credit recovery and/or have to pick a new pathway.  Students also are dealing with a lot of trauma or stress.  A counselor can listen and help advocate for the students classroom needs and guide the student to resources that will help them cope, but counselors are not licensed to counsel them for their mental health needs.  The counselor, Traci Mitchell, accommodated me with the best of her knowledge in the subject of foster care. She stated that she personally has not had any foster students that are seniors or looking to attend any post-secondary options.  Most students are unfortunately just ready to be independent and graduate high school.  Mitchell believes the Legal Guide will be a benefit for others to have the knowledge and resource to better help foster students.  Teachers develop relationships with students too, and can motivate more foster students to look into post-secondary options and assistance.  TEA has a lot of information to help school counselors, guardians, and students gain information.  High school foster students have to want to access it and make it a goal for their future. A student that only stays for a very short amount of time has to want to focus on whatever support they can get before they move again. She recommended a few best practices in school counseling and working with foster students:

Communication and collaboration with child welfare, the guardian, and the school will benefit the students high school experience.

Providing the information for post-secondary support directly to the high school student is essential, with everything going on in their lives it is not always the most important topic for a case worker.

Supporting the student with making social connections, information on school activities and participation in extra-curriculars can make transitions easier.

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As a school counselor, offering training and assistance to help teachers provide a trauma-sensitive classroom environment can help all students feel secure and learn better.  Students that enter foster care are often exposed to child neglect or abuse, a parent with addiction or imprisoned, and other stressors.  Traumatized students can have trouble focusing and have more behavior issues. These students are sent to school without a warning for teachers and staff that work with them.

Flannery, M. E. (2016, May 17). How trauma is changing children’s brains. National Education Association | NEA. https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/how-trauma-changing-childrens-brains

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For several years, John Snelgrove began his workweek with a lengthy fax from the local police, listing the home addresses where officers had answered domestic violence calls over the weekend.

Snelgrove, head of guidance services for Brockton (Mass.) Public Schools, would check those addresses against the district's student database. When a match came up, he'd alert the counselor at that child's school, who, in turn, would take a red envelope and deliver it to the child's teacher. Inside was a slip of paper with a student's name and a quick prescription for "TLC."

A Sunday night, disrupted by violence, panic, and 911 calls, surely will make it difficult for a child to settle down to learn on Monday morning. But, even more than that, researchers have found that exposure to unrelenting stress and repeated traumas can change a child's brain, making it easier to "fight or flee" from perceived dangers and harder to focus and learn. Understanding this neuroscience makes it possible for educators to create trauma-sensitive classroom.

"It's more than one or two children in your class of 28, it could be closer to 30 percent or more," Snelgrove tells his colleagues. But even children who haven't experienced trauma will benefit from the strategies that Brockton teachers and education support professionals have learned through years of training with the Massachusetts-based Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative, and their partnerships with local police, mental health, and child welfare agencies.

"Be consistent, be kind, focus on connecting with kids," he urges.

The Traumatized Brain

Back in the 1990s, Dr. Vincent Felitti, working with very obese adults, discovered that a shocking majority of his patients had suffered significant traumas during childhood. Eventually, his work led to a mega-study, involving tens of thousands of patients, which showed the long-lasting effects of "adverse childhood experiences," or ACEs, such as child neglect or abuse, or a parent with addiction or imprisoned. Those children often grow up to be adults who are more likely to be sick, to be violent, to miss work, and to marry often.

Since then, it's become clear that the damaging effects of trauma are not saved until adulthood. It starts early and it affects students and teachers: in fact, kindergartners who have had tough experiences score below-average in reading and math, even when other factors like household income and parental education are considered, a study published this year found. Those traumatized 5-year-olds also are three times more likely to have problems with paying attention, and two times more likely to show aggression.

What neuropsychologists have found is that traumatic experiences actually can alter children's brains. In times of great stress, or trauma, the brain activates its deeply instinctive, "fight, flight, or freeze" responses, while dialing down the areas of the brain where learning, especially around language, takes place. When this happens over and again, especially in children under age 5, the brain is fundamentally changed. Basically, it adapts for survival under the worst conditions.

"It's an appropriate adaptation to their circumstances," says Amanda Moreno, professor of early-child development at the Erikson Institute in Chicago. "But it comes at enormous cost to schooling, especially with the way we do schooling in this country, which is very standardized."

Traumatized 5-year-olds are three times more likely to have problems with paying attention, and two times more likely to show aggression.

Veteran Illinois special education teacher Kathi Ritchie knows what this looks like in a classroom: "You will see kids struggling with all areas of language, word retrieval, writing... memory suffers hugely. They tend to be forgetful. They don't remember content-area ideas that have been taught to them; the next day it's like they never were taught," she says. "The other thing that is huge is the behavior."

Living in a constant, fear-activated state of hyper-awareness means these children can be quick to rage, Ritchie has seen. In their subconscious efforts to self-protect, they often can be perceived as defiant, disrespectful or overly aggressive. Others may look like they're zoning out or drifting off, she says. "It can look like kids are shutting down, but their brain is telling them, 'you need to be safe.'"

Calming Colors, Safe Spaces, Mindfulness

So what's an educator to do? First, here's what not to do: Punish a child for showing the symptoms of a medical disorder. Trauma and stressor disorders can be found in the most up-to-date Bible of mental health disorders and diagnoses, the DSM-V, which means they are a real medical issue. Out-of-school suspensions are an inappropriate response and likely feed the school-to-prison pipeline.

Instead, what helps is to create a trauma-sensitive classroom where kids can feel safe and build resilience. Although Snelgrove no longer receives faxes from the local police because of revised confidentiality requirements, he hopes the "universal precautions" that Brockton teachers and education support professionals have embraced will catch any student who has experienced trauma.

Trauma-sensitive teachers often offer a "comfort zone" to their students, a safe space where kids can retreat and calm down. Sometimes it's as simple as a beanbag chair. Their classrooms also are neat and uncluttered. Think about how you feel coming home to a messy house, Snelgrove says. A little overwhelmed, right? It's worse for hyper-aroused children. Cool colors reign on the walls.

Ritchie also recommends teaching strategies that include predictable classroom routines with advance warning to students of any changes; asking students to repeat verbal instructions, using more written instructions, and also using visual prompts for multi-step directions, like a sticky post-it note on a desk. All students can benefit from short "movement breaks" every 30 minutes to "reframe the brain," she says.

Moreno's research currently involves the effects of mindfulness exercises on students in some of Chicago's roughest neighborhoods. Although her study is not yet complete, teachers and principals have told her that the time they are spending on mindfulness actually is leading to more time for instruction. Students refocus more quickly after transitions, and calm down after upsets. This makes classrooms more efficient, but it also helps with an even bigger goal: Helping children grow up to be healthy adults.

You will see kids struggling with all areas of language, word retrieval, writing... memory suffers hugely.

- Kathi Ritchie, special education teacher.

Apart from employing a mindfulness curricula, or classroom yoga practices, which also are gaining popularity, simply greeting students at the start of the day and "acknowledging their humanity" before diving into tasks will help, Moreno says. With all the demands placed on teachers, it can be difficult, even "radical," for teachers to slow down the pace of their classes and to take time with every student, but it will pay dividends, she says.

In Brockton, Snelgrove appreciates his district's leaders for investing in years of trauma-related training for teachers and education support professionals, and developing partnerships with police, mental health, and child welfare agencies. This isn't the stuff that appears on state-mandated standardized tests, he acknowledges. But it is the stuff that engages the "hearts and minds" of teachers and education support professionals, he says.

"We're not perfect, and I know we have a way to go, but when we talk about the 'whole child,' we mean it."

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How Trauma is Changing Children's Brains | NEA

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For several years, John Snelgrove began his workweek with a lengthy fax from the local police, listing the home addresses where officers had answered domestic violence calls over the weekend. Snelgrove, head of guidance services for Brockton (Mass.) Public Schools, would check those addresses against the district's student database.

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U.S. District Judge Janis Jack found Texas to be violating foster youths educational rights in 2015.

The Department of Family and Protective Services and the Health and Human Services Commission has made progress since then, but still has areas of child endangerment that need to be corrected.

Foster placements and shelters licensing have been surrendered for child safety due to physical abuse, sexual abuse,  neglectful supervision and medical neglect.

State officials have been instructed to document children with a history of abuse and sexual aggression.

Oxner, R. (2021, May 7). “Serious, harmful consequences”: Texas continues placing foster children in harm’s way, court monitors find. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2021/05/06/texas-foster-care-system-lawsuit/

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Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
At least 23 children have died in Texas' long-term foster care system since summer 2019, according to a new report by court-appointed monitors for state agencies in charge of the system.

Six of the children died as a result of either neglect or abuse by caregivers. Another is suspected to have died from abuse. Five more deaths are also still under investigation.

"It's the safety of these children that's at stake here," U.S. District Judge Janis Jack said during a federal court hearing following the release of the report. "That's the most important thing we have ... and I expect Texas to live up to its duties to keep these children safe."

The 387-page report was released ahead of a hearing in the decade-long lawsuit over foster care in Texas. It detailed "some progress" state agencies have made toward improving foster care but stated that "serious risks of harm to children persist."

Jack previously ordered the state to stop putting children in placements that "create an unreasonable risk of serious harm." But the report found the state "appears to have done so repeatedly, with serious, harmful consequences to the children in its care."

This week's hearing comes over two years after Jack ordered the Department of Family and Protective Services and the Health and Human Services Commission to address a long list of reforms for the state's foster care system after she found in 2015 that Texas violated foster children's constitutional rights.

T he court has twice held state agencies in contempt for failing to meet reforms ordered by Jack. She did not issue another contempt order during this week's hearing.

During the hearing, which lasted all day Wednesday and part of Thursday, Janis acknowledged that there has been progress but highlighted several areas that continue to endanger children.

Jack grilled several state and provider officials about placement facilities reopening under different names - a phenomenon that the monitors surfaced last year. According to the report, several operations with histories of abuse, safety and neglect violations closed and reopened under a new name to escape citations from the state.

State officials said they have addressed the issue with an emergency rule to ensure this can't happen. A permanent rule will go into place this summer.

"I mean it's just stunning to me that these rules are even necessary," Jack said. "Because for something to close one day and open the next day with the same children, the same owners, the same operators and the same staff - and nobody picks it up? It's just bizarre."

The report also said three contractors responsible for finding living arrangements, including foster homes, for children in state care placed children in unlicensed facilities.

"We are glad to see the areas in which the state is improving," Marcia Lowry, executive director of A Better Childhood, a national nonprofit child welfare advocacy organization, and a co-counsel in the lawsuit, said in a press release on Tuesday. "However, we are very troubled that almost two years after the court's remedial orders went into effect, children are being placed in unlicensed placements and being subjected to many dangerous, damaging conditions."

The report includes a 3-year-old boy who died after being found unresponsive on the floor, bleeding from his ear and showing signs of abuse. His day care had reported previous injuries to his case worker. One teenager died by suicide when left alone, despite her case requiring that she be under constant supervision because she was at risk for self-harm. Other cases include negligence by the caretakers for medical needs or in one case when a toddler was able to climb into a pool and drown.

Other deaths not deemed from abuse or neglect include a teenager who drowned, children with severe medical conditions and a 15-year-old girl who had run away from care and was found murdered on the side of the road. One child was in a placement in another state and wasn't investigated by Texas officials.

Eleven of the deaths were also included in the monitor's first report last year. The data was collected after Jack ordered that child fatalities be reported to the court monitors.

The court monitors analyzed tens of thousands of pages of documents, conducted hours of interviews and probed various aspects of the foster care system.

Texas Health and Human Services did not revoke any licenses for placements - whether a foster home, a group home or an agency - in the five years prior to July 31, 2019. But between then and April 23, the department initiated revocation proceedings or denied licenses for eight group facilities that house seven or more foster children.

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services canceled contracts with three of these facilities, while five others voluntarily relinquished licenses after being placed on heightened monitoring or another type of enforcement action due to suspected malpractice.

Jack blasted one provider in particular, Family Tapestry, for failing to meet minimum standards and prevent abuse within a shelter in San Antonio.

"You are running a dangerous, unsafe operation, and now you want more money to continue doing it," Jack told Annette Rodriguez, chief executive officer of the Children's Shelter and Family Tapestry. "You were unprepared to take care of those children, and you're still unprepared to take care of those children."

The Children's Shelter created Family Tapestry and won a state contract in August 2018 to manage and place foster children. But Jack said there were persistent problems there that "are serious and an incredible safety issue."

The shelter was cited 239 times for failing to meet minimum standards from 2016 to 2020, according to the report. Monitors detailed "substantiated" findings including one for physical abuse, one for sexual abuse, 10 for neglectful supervision and three for medical neglect.

Family Tapestry voluntarily surrendered its license for the shelter, but later continued to place children there, according to the court monitors. Rodriguez said at this week's hearing the organization chose to do that because of a lack of other options.

"We are diligently working with providers to try to open up more capacity, as we have done all along," Rodriguez said.

Jack said it is "absolutely astounding" that the organization has told officials that it needs more funding when defending itself from the reports.

"I hope that that doesn't occur for the safety of these children," she said.

After the Tribune requested an interview, Rodriguez responded in a statement that they are "deeply concerned" and working to address the issues raised.

"It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time. We remain committed to all the children we serve," Rodriguez said.

During the hearing, Jack also instructed state officials to take action to better protect children from sexual abuse within the foster care system and to document when children have a history of abuse or sexual aggression, so they can be placed with precautions in mind.

A future hearing date for the ongoing case has not yet been announced.

The parents of one of the children who died while in foster care is suing ACH Child and Family Services, the organization who managed their son's case, after he died, succumbing to injuries.

Amari Boone was three years old when he died in state custody. He had two emergency visits to Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth while in foster care before his death from a brain injury, according to The Dallas Morning News.

"Nobody should ever have to lose a child. We are still heartbroken but making sure that Amari did not die in vain gives us a reason to get through each day," Amari's parents said in a written statement to The Texas Tribune. "The Texas foster care system needs to change."

The Boone family alleges that ACH Child and Family Services - the provider that managed Amari's case - "cut corners to focus on profits over people, ignored multiple obvious signs and warnings of abuse, and kept haphazard records that resulted in Amari's death."

"We remain heartbroken over the loss of Amari Boone and our deepest sympathies are with his family and friends," a spokesperson for ACH said in a written statement. "We are fully cooperating with authorities involved in the case and wish we could comment more, but now as a defendant in this case, we are not at liberty to discuss any information in public."

The two foster caretakers, Deondrick Foley and Joseph Delancy, were arrested earlier this year and indicted on several counts of injury to a child by omission resulting in bodily injury, according to The News reported.
Neelam Bohra contributed to this report.

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department of family and protective services

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"Serious, harmful consequences": Texas continues placing foster children in harm's way, court monitors find

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Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. At least 23 children have died in Texas' long-term foster care system since summer 2019, according to a new report by court-appointed monitors for state agencies in charge of the system.

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Students who have been in foster care complete high school, college and vocational training at lower rates than other students.

"Placement in foster care puts them at a high risk of emotional and behavioral problems that can adversely affect educational attainment" (Grubs, 2020).

Postsecondary education is more difficult for foster youth because of lack of family ad financial support.

The Education Code requires each Texas public institution of higher education (IHE) to have a foster-care liaison to identify former foster youth and inform them of financial  services available to them.

Services include tuition waivers, transitional living services, and supervised independent living.

"Texas’ current and former foster youths are at a high risk of poor educational outcomes that can damage their prospects for economic success and a better life" (Grubs, 2020).

Grubs, S. (2020). Helping foster youths in higher education. Comptroller.Texas.Gov. https://comptroller.texas.gov/economy/fiscal-notes/2020/apr/education.php

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Line Items ONLINE EXCLUSIVES

more

by Spencer Grubbs

As this issue went to press, the coronavirus was sweeping our state and the nation. The consequent shutdowns are having obvious impacts on Texas government and the state's economy; the Comptroller's office is monitoring the situation closely. Our May-June issue will begin the discussion.

According to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), more than 33,000 Texas children and youths were placed in foster care in fiscal 2019, and during that year more than 51,000 were under DFPS care at some point. These kids represent a vulnerable subset of Texas' large and growing adolescent population. Those who experience abuse and neglect in childhood often are left with lifelong scars, physical and emotional, and many face difficulties in making a successful transition to adulthood.

Foster care is intended to protect children who can't safely live at home with their parents, generally because of abuse or neglect. In Texas, such youths are placed in the state's foster care system when a relative or family friend can't provide care. Texas courts grant DFPS temporary legal custody, called conservatorship, of these youths.

The social and economic consequences of children in turmoil are dramatic. Students who have been in foster care complete high school, college and vocational training at much lower rates than their counterparts. Texas' economic progress will depend on how well the state can ensure educational success for all its young people - including the most vulnerable.

Leaving Foster Care

In Texas, DFPS conservatorship of a youth ends when "permanency" is achieved through family reunification, adoption or custody to relatives, or when the youth turns 18 - "aging out" - whichever comes first. More than 20,300 youths left DFPS conservatorship in fiscal 2019; of those, 93 percent achieved permanency of some kind, and 6 percent aged out.

Nearly 19,000 youths who achieved permanency in fiscal 2019 spent an average of about 1.5 years in care with two placements each. Those who aged out in that year, however, spent an average of nearly four years in care and experienced more than six placements ( Exhibit 1).

Regardless of how these youths leave care, the abuse and neglect that initiated their placement in foster care puts them at a high risk of emotional and behavioral problems that can adversely affect educational attainment.

Exhibit 1: Youths Exiting DFPS Conservatorship in Texas, Fiscal 2019

Roll over the chart for specific values.

Exit Reason

Average Months in Care

Average Placements per Exit

Number of Exits

Share of Total Exits

*Missing or incomplete data.
Source: Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

An Educational Challenge

Compared to their peers, students in foster care are 3.4 times more likely to be suspended from school and 3.6 times more likely to drop out of high school, according to data presented at the 2017 P-16 Statewide Professional Development Conference (PDF) . Although DFPS always seeks to place youths in foster care in a safe and permanent living arrangement as quickly as possible, many are moved from home to home multiple times until an appropriate living arrangement can be established.

Multiple moves often involve changing schools, another factor that can affect student performance; foster students can lose valuable social supports and even course credits. According to data presented at the 2017 conference, 47 percent of Texas students in foster care have attended at least two different schools in the same school year, versus just 7 percent of students not in care.

For those who have left foster care, postsecondary education can be challenging simply because they haven't had the same level of familial and financial support as their peers. In a 2017 study (PDF) of nearly 4,000 former Texas foster-care children, two-thirds (67 percent) hadn't pursued postsecondary education. Of those who did enroll, fewer than 4 percent had earned a certificate, an associate degree or a bachelor's degree ( Exhibit 2).

In the 2017 study, 38 percent of nearly 4,000 youths aged out of foster care after turning 18, while 62 percent left foster care after achieving some sort of permanency. The results suggest that foster-care alumni struggle educationally regardless of exit reason, age or time spent in DFPS conservatorship.

Exhibit 2: Attainment of Texas Foster-Care Alumni Pursuing Higher Education, Ages 18 to 24

No Degree: 96.4%

Certificate: 1.5%

Associate: 0.5%

Bachelor: 1.5%

Note: Study cohort consisted of 3,855 persons formerly in foster care who turned 18 between Sept. 1, 2008, and Aug. 31, 2009; the length of time in foster care and each individual's tuition waiver eligibility are unknown. Totals may not add due to rounding.
Source: Education Reach for Texans

Liaisons for Higher Education

Texas lawmakers have established programs to help address low college enrollment and retention rates among foster-care alumni. In 2015, the Legislature amended the Education Code to require each Texas public institution of higher education (IHE) to appoint at least one employee to serve as a foster-care liaison.

These liaisons help identify those who have been in foster care and provide them with a direct point of contact with the school from enrollment to graduation. They're also responsible for disseminating information about available support services and financial resources. According to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (PDF) (THECB), about 117 liaisons serve foster-care alumni at Texas universities, state colleges, community colleges, technical colleges and health-related institutions.

Dr. Javier Flores, foster-care liaison at Angelo State University, says that "navigating through the higher education admissions and enrollment processes can be daunting, especially for individuals formerly placed in foster care." In his role as vice president for student affairs and enrollment management, Flores works with "departments across the university to develop processes, practices and programs leading to an increase in enrollment, retention and ultimately graduation rates" for former foster kids.

JAVIER FLORES

Foster-Care Liaison,
Angelo State University

Tuition and Fee Waivers for Foster Kids

Texas is one of 22 states that provides a college tuition waiver program for youths and young adults currently or formerly in foster care. Texas' program, established by the Legislature in 1993, waives tuition and required fees (excluding optional fees such as parking costs) at state IHEs for young people currently or formerly in DFPS' foster care program. To qualify, participants must enroll in an IHE as an undergraduate student or in a dual-credit course by age 25, among other requirements. The tuition waiver is an unfunded mandate, meaning that state-supported IHEs must cover the associated loss of tuition and fees without reimbursement from the state.

A 2018 study conducted by faculty from several state IHEs, including Texas State University in San Marcos, suggests that those who have been in foster care and use the state college tuition waiver have higher rates of first- and second-year retention, higher grade-point averages and higher graduation rates than those who don't. The study also found that youths who use the waiver are about three times more likely to earn a bachelor's degree than those who don't. Data compiled by THECB, however, show that waiver use among eligible foster youths is limited. Of the 1,666 eligible foster children born in 1992 who were tracked through the 2015-16 academic year, only about 25 percent used the waiver.

Some signs point toward greater use of the waiver, however. In fiscal 2018, a total of 6,037 Texans received tuition and fee exemptions under the tuition waiver program. Of these, nearly 59 percent (3,547) were currently or formerly under DFPS conservatorship, while about 31 percent (2,490) had been adopted. Use of the exemption rose from the previous year for both groups - by 6.6 percent and 16.7 percent, respectively ( Exhibit 3).

Exhibit 3: Foster and Adopted Youths Receiving State College Tuition Wavers in Texas, Fiscal 2017 and 2018

FY 2017

FY 2018

Percent Increase

Current/former youth under DFPS conservatorship

3,328

3,547

6.6%

Adopted youth

2,134

2,490

16.7%

Note: Data self-reported by institutions of higher education.
Source: Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

Fiscal 2018 exemptions for those currently or formerly in foster care or who were adopted from DFPS foster care amounted to $22.2 million in foregone tuition and fee revenue. Community colleges served the highest number of young adults receiving tuition waivers in fiscal 2018; about two-thirds of those receiving tuition waivers (4,015) attended community colleges. Nearly 70 percent ($15.4 million) of the cost, however, was assumed by universities, which have considerably higher tuition rates ( Exhibit 4).

Exhibit 4: Number of Students Currently/Formerly in Foster Care Receiving Tuition Waivers and Value of Waivers by Type of Institution, Fiscal 2018

In Foster Care

Adopted

Type of Institution

Number of Students

Value of Waivers

Number of Students

Value of Waivers

Source: Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

Transitional Living Services

DFPS promotes self-sufficiency and success among foster-care alumni through its Transitional Living Services (TLS) programs, provided by DFPS staff, contracted service providers and 18 transition centers across the state. The state college tuition and fee waiver is one of these programs, but it's not the only one. Other TLS programs include:

Circles of Support - voluntary support group meetings that include foster youths, family members, foster care providers and teachers to help develop and review transition plans for entering adulthood;

Preparation for Adult Living - a program preparing older foster youths for a successful transition to adulthood with resources such as life skills training, transitional living allowances, case management, aftercare room and board assistance, GED classes and driver education; and

Education and Training Vouchers - a federally funded program that provides eligible youths with up to $5,000 per year to attend college or vocational training.

Supervised Independent Living

DFPS also administers Supervised Independent Living (SIL), a type of extended foster-care placement that allows young adults aged 18 or older to reside in a less restrictive living arrangement while continuing to receive casework and support services to help them become self-sufficient. It also connects participants to higher education. Extending foster care beyond age 18 is very beneficial for those aging out of the system. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, extended foster care doubles the likelihood they will complete at least one year of college by age 21.

"As with any youth turning 18," says Debra Emerson, DFPS' CPS director of Youth Transitional Living Services, "many are not prepared to be fully independent. Extended foster care provides the same support parents provide their own children for successful transition to adulthood."

DEBRA EMERSON

CPS Director of Youth Transitional Living Services,
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

SIL provides those currently or formerly in foster care with an extra layer of support to reduce the stress of living independently for the first time. Young adults in SIL programs live independently in college dorms, where they are immersed in academic and social life on or near campus and receive financial help for necessary purchases. According to Education Reach for Texans, transitioning directly from foster care to student housing can increase the likelihood of attending and committing to higher education. Currently, 13 SIL sites operate at IHEs across Texas, including two community colleges ( Exhibit 5); the newest site is Texas A&M at College Station.

Exhibit 5: Supervised Independent Living Contracted Providers

Name of Institution

Type of Institution

Comptroller Region

Source: Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

University Programs

In addition to state-level support, programs at some universities around the state provide helpful resources for foster-care alumni seeking postsecondary degrees.

Texas State University, for instance, established its Foster Care Alumni Creating Educational Success (FACES) program in 2011. With a network of more than 50 mentors and access to university and community resources, FACES aims to increase the retention and graduation rates among foster-care alumni attending the university. FACES students can access mentoring services from Texas State faculty and staff, a lending library providing free textbooks and emergency funding for necessary expenditures such as rent or medical services.

Similarly, in 2019 the University of Houston (UH) launched the Diamond Family Scholars Program with a $17 million endowment from local philanthropists. With a wide range of support services, notably an $8,500 annual scholarship, the program intends to increase the current four-year graduation rate of foster-care alumni at UH from 37 percent to 60 percent within four years, with a long-term goal of 80 percent.

Texas' current and former foster youths are at a high risk of poor educational outcomes that can damage their prospects for economic success and a better life. Texas has taken meaningful steps to help them succeed - and build a strong future workforce that includes all Texans. FN

For more information about how some young Texans are financing their higher education goals, see our article on student loan debt in our March issue.

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Helping Foster Youths in Higher Education

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more by Spencer Grubbs As this issue went to press, the coronavirus was sweeping our state and the nation. The consequent shutdowns are having obvious impacts on Texas government and the state's economy; the Comptroller's office is monitoring the situation closely. Our May-June issue will begin the discussion.

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The 14th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America:
* All citizens are guaranteed equal protection of their rights, as described throughout the amendments, and equal protection of the laws.”
* It gives people the right to be free from harm while in state custody.

Reference:
U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv

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Amendment XIV

Section 1.

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Section 2.

Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a state, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such state.

Section 3.

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Section 4.

The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any state shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

Section 5.

The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

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All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.

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Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA):
*A law that protects the privacy of student education records.
* The law permits sharing of records under specific circumstances.
* Jurisdictions may  consider a foster parent or other caretaker as the parent under FERPA and therefore grant each the right to access education records.
(20 U.S.C. § 1232g)

Reference:
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99)

https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html

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The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students."

Parents or eligible students have the right to inspect and review the student's education records maintained by the school. Schools are not required to provide copies of records unless, for reasons such as great distance, it is impossible for parents or eligible students to review the records. Schools may charge a fee for copies.

Parents or eligible students have the right to request that a school correct records which they believe to be inaccurate or misleading. If the school decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student then has the right to a formal hearing. After the hearing, if the school still decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student has the right to place a statement with the record setting forth his or her view about the contested information.

Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):

School officials with legitimate educational interest;

Other schools to which a student is transferring;

Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes;

Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;

Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;

Accrediting organizations;

To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena;

Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and

State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law.

Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. However, schools must tell parents and eligible students about directory information and allow parents and eligible students a reasonable amount of time to request that the school not disclose directory information about them. Schools must notify parents and eligible students annually of their rights under FERPA. The actual means of notification (special letter, inclusion in a PTA bulletin, student handbook, or newspaper article) is left to the discretion of each school.

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policy; privacy; academic records; technical assistance; parent rights; student rights; ferpa

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Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

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Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Home Page.

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40 Texas Administration Code, Section 700.1630 - Tuition and Fee Waiver for Youth Returning to a Parent:
*This exempts or waives payment of tuition and fees at state supported colleges or universities for foster youth currently or formerly in the care of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) and for those adopted from DFPS.
* Qualify if one returned to the legal responsibility of your parent on or after June 1, 2016 at either age 14 or 16
*Qualify if one had a permanent guardian granted to a non-parent on or after September 1, 2009.
*Must use before the age of 25.

(40 TAC §700.1630)

https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=40&pt=19&ch=700&rl=1630

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(a) The following populations are eligible for the Texas Tuition and Fee Waiver, regardless of whether parental rights are terminated or not: (1) Youth age 14 or older who are in DFPS's permanent managing conservatorship on or after the effective date of this rule, and who subsequently exit conservatorship to the legal responsibility of a parent. (2) Youth age 16 or older who are in DFPS's temporary managing conservatorship on or after the effective date of this rule, and who subsequently exit conservatorship to the legal responsibility of a parent. (b) If after exiting the foster care system the youth returns to DFPS conservatorship, the youth's eligibility will be based on their current foster care circumstances. (c) The student must enroll in an institution of higher education as defined by Texas Education Code §61.003 not later than the student's 25th birthday to receive the Texas Tuition and Fee Waiver. (d) The student must meet any other applicable statutory requirement concerning the Texas Tuition and Fee Waiver for students exempted by Texas Education Code §54.366. (e) This rule is applicable beginning with tuition and fees charged at a Texas public institution of higher education as defined by the Texas Education Code §61.003 for the 2016 fall semester. (f) The term parent means a biological parent or an adoptive parent.

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(a) The following populations are eligible for the Texas Tuition and Fee Waiver, regardless of whether parental rights are terminated or not: (1) Youth age 14 or older who are in DFPS's permanent managing conservatorship on or after the effective date of this rule, and who subsequently exit conservatorship to the legal responsibility of a parent.

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M.D. v. Abbott (5th Cir. 2020)

*a class-action lawsuit brought by children in foster care claiming they were subjected to serious harms by the neglect and abuse of the Texas Department of Family Protective Services, or DFPS.
*After years of arguing in court, the court ordered the government to fix the system.
*In 2019, judge has found the state officials in contempt of court for failing to take care of court orders.
*This is an ongoing case to continue monitoring for knowledge of foster student placements.

https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca5/19-41015/19-41015-2020-10-16.html

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Download PDF

Case: 19-41015 Document: 00515605575 Page: 1 Date Filed: 10/16/2020 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED October 16, 2020 No. 19-41015 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk M. D., by next friend Sarah R. Stukenberg; Z. H., by next friend Carla B. Morrison; S. A., by next friend Javier Solis; A. M., by next friend Jennifer Talley; J. S., by next friend Anna J. Ricker; H. V., by next friend Anna J. Ricker; L. H., by next friend Estela C. Vasquez; C. H., by next friend Estela C. Vasquez; A. R., by next friend Tom McKenzie, individually and on behalf of all other similarly situated, Plaintiffs-Appellees, versus Greg Abbott, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of Texas; Courtney Phillips, in her official capacity as Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission of Texas; Jaime Masters, in her official capacity as Commissioner of the Department of Family and Protective Services of the State of Texas, Defendants-Appellants. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 2:11-CV-84 Case: 19-41015 Document: 00515605575 Page: 2 Date Filed: 10/16/2020 No. 19-41015 Before Barksdale, Elrod, and Ho, Circuit Judges.* James C. Ho, Circuit Judge: District courts do not have discretion to ignore mandates issued by this court. A previous panel of this court ordered the district court to begin implementing the permanent injunction in this case "without further changes." The district court made further changes anyway. We reverse and remand. *** Plaintiffs are a certified class of minor children in the permanent managing conservatorship (PMC) of the Texas Department of Family Protective Services. About ten years ago, they brought a series of § 1983 claims alleging that the Texas foster-care system violated their substantive due process right "to be free from an unreasonable risk of harm." M.D. ex rel. Stukenberg v. Abbott ("Stukenberg I"), 907 F.3d 237, 243 (5th Cir. 2018). The district court agreed and issued a wide-ranging permanent injunction imposing "sweeping changes" on the Texas foster-care system. Id. The state appealed. This court agreed with some of the district court's constitutional holdings, but vacated and remanded the injunction to the district court for "modification consistent with this opinion." Id. at 287-88. The district court accordingly made additional modifications to the injunction. The state appealed again. Once again, this court agreed with some of the district court's changes, but disagreed with others. M.D. ex rel. Stukenberg v. Abbott ("Stukenberg II"), 929 F.3d 272, 275 (5th Cir. 2019). This time, however, we instructed the district court to "begin implementing, without further * Judge Barksdale concurs only in the judgment. 2 Case: 19-41015 Document: 00515605575 Page: 3 Date Filed: 10/16/2020 No. 19-41015 changes, the modified injunction with the alterations we have made." Id. at 281. Notwithstanding our specific instruction not to make "further changes" to the injunction, the district court did just that. In Stukenberg II, we approved an injunction requiring all licensed PMC residences housing more than six children to provide 24-hour "awake-night" supervision-that is, at least one supervising adult awake at all times. Id. at 276-77. The rationale for this requirement is simple: The more unrelated foster children living in the same home at the same time, the greater the risk of harm. Not surprisingly, then, the injunction did not limit the state's ability to move PMC children from overcrowded homes into less crowded homes. On remand, however, the district court expanded the injunction again-this time enjoining the state "from moving any PMC child from their current . . . placement as a result of enforcement of the Court's requirement for 24-hour awake-night supervision unless application is made to the Court . . . prior to [the] proposed discharge." This modification demonstrably constitutes a "further change" to the injunction. Before the modification, the state could move PMC children from larger homes to smaller homes at its discretion, without violating the injunction. After the modification, the state could no longer move PMC children "without permission" from the district court. It is black-letter law that a district court must comply with a mandate issued by an appellate court. See, e.g., Gen. Universal Sys., Inc. v. HAL, Inc., 500 F.3d 444, 453 (5th Cir. 2007) ("The mandate rule requires a district court on remand to effect our mandate and to do nothing else."). We have underscored that the mandate rule is "essential to the orderly administration of justice" because it brings finality to disputes. United States v. Pineiro, 470 3 Case: 19-41015 Document: 00515605575 Page: 4 Date Filed: 10/16/2020 No. 19-41015 F.3d 200, 205 (5th Cir. 2006). The rule is "aimed at preventing obstinate litigants from repeatedly reasserting the same arguments and at discouraging opportunistic litigants from appealing repeatedly in the hope of acquiring a more favorable appellate panel." Id. Plaintiffs claim that the district court did not violate the mandate rule because a court "invok[ing] equity's power to remedy a constitutional violation by an injunction mandating systemic changes to an institution" generally has "the continuing duty and responsibility to assess the efficacy and consequences of its order." Brown v. Plata, 563 U.S. 493, 542 (2011). As Plaintiffs point out, we recited this general principle in Stukenberg II, stating that "[a] district court undoubtedly has the equitable power to oversee compliance with its own injunction." 929 F.3d at 278. "[E]quitable decrees that impose a continuing supervisory function on the court commonly . . . contemplate the subsequent issuance of specific implementing injunctions." Moore v. Tangipahoa Parish Sch. Bd., 843 F.3d 198, 200 (5th Cir. 2016) (alterations in original) (citation omitted). But judges disagree on occasion over the proper exercise of equitable powers, just as judges disagree on occasion over the proper interpretation of statutes. When that happens, appellate courts must make the final decision-and once the decision is made, it must be followed. And that, of course, is the whole purpose of the mandate rule: "A district court on remand . . . may not disregard the explicit directives of [the appellate] court." Perez v. Stephens, 784 F.3d 276, 280 (5th Cir. 2015) (quotations omitted). To elevate general equitable principles over the mandate rule is to challenge the very principle of appellate review-including any number of other doctrines inherent in our judicial hierarchy, such as vertical stare decisis. We do not question the good faith of the district judge in this case. But make 4 Case: 19-41015 Document: 00515605575 Page: 5 Date Filed: 10/16/2020 No. 19-41015 no mistake: Accepting Plaintiffs' approach would replace judicial hierarchy with judicial anarchy. Plaintiffs alternatively contend that the modification was a necessary "administrative measure" to prevent Defendants from "evad[ing] the 24-hour supervision requirement by shuffling PMC children around on the fly" "so that a given facility remains below the seven-child threshold at a given moment." Put another way, Plaintiffs disagree that our prior mandate adequately protects them from harm. But a district court cannot ignore the terms of a mandate it disagrees with any more than we can ignore the words of a federal statute that we disagree with. If it is necessary to modify an injunction in the face of a mandate that forbids all further changes, the solution is not for the district court to update the injunction on its own-but for the parties to litigate the matter to the extent our procedures permit. See, e.g., Deutsche Bank Nat'l Trust Co. v. Burke, 902 F.3d 548, 551 (5th Cir. 2018) ("[W]e will only reexamine issues of law addressed by a prior panel opinion in a subsequent appeal of the same case if (i) the evidence on a subsequent trial was substantially different, (ii) controlling authority has since made a contrary decision on the law applicable to such issues, or (iii) the decision was clearly erroneous and would work a manifest injustice.") (quotations omitted). Relief of this kind may be "rarely" granted, to be sure. Id. But if that seems like strong medicine, the lesson is for appellate courts to draft their mandates carefully, not for district courts to ignore established rules of appellate procedure. *** We repeat what we said in Stukenberg II. "The case is remanded to the district court to begin implementing, without further changes, the modified injunction with the alterations we have made." 929 F.3d at 281. We reverse and remand. 5

Primary Holding

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Plaintiffs, a certified class of minor children in the permanent managing conservatorship (PMC) of the Texas Department of Family Protective Services, filed 42 U.S.C. 1983 claims alleging that the Texas foster-care system violated their substantive due process right to be free from an unreasonable risk of harm.

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*Foster youth that enrolls in the district after the beginning of the school year will be allowed credit-by-examination opportunities outside the district’s established testing windows, and the district will grant proportionate course credit by semester (partial credit) when a student only passes one semester of a two-semester course.
*Student may remain in school district when foster placement is outside of school district boundaries
*Student that does not meet graduation requirements in district of placement can request diploma from KISD if graduation criteria is met.
*Kaufman Independent School District has an Director of Student Services that oversees programs that affect students academics and social needs, such as those in foster care.

Kaufman Independent School District. (2020). Student handbooks. https://www.kaufmanisd.net/resources/student-handbooks

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According to ASCA ethical standard, a school counselor has many responsibilities to students. A school counselor has the responsibility to support student development in academic, career, and social emotional needs (ASCA Section A.1.e). Students in foster care often come have unique educational and emotional needs due to stressors and barriers that come from foster placement(s).

American School Counselor Association. (2016). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/f041cbd0-7004-47a5-ba01-3a5d657c6743/Ethical-Standards.pdf

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Knowledge was gained after viewing different laws, articles, and ethical codes related to serving foster youth. A school counselor should stay informed of the states issues with the foster care system and the services available for foster students. Foster youth experience a lot of instability. School counselors can offer some stability at school. There are many laws involving educating foster students. A high school counselor can help maintain a students legal privacy while supporting student post-secondary goals with state mandated supports. Counselors can ethically support foster students emotional needs from the stressors that come from unfamiliar placements and becoming social targets.

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#13 Recommendations/Best Practice for Compliance

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#13 Recommendations/Best Practice for Compliance

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Recommendations related to educational and counseling practice for supporting foster youth:

1. Maintain confidentiality of placement and services.

2. Connect and communicate with all schools during times of transitions.

3. Ensure appropriate enrollment and academic services.

4. Collaborate with foster/biological family and CPS representatives.

5. Implement practices to help student transition and find social success in new school environment.

6. Provide individual and group support for student academic and emotional needs.

7. Inform foster students or  resources available to help students access postsecondary opportunities.