Michigan currently has over 14,000 children in foster care.

National outcomes reveal that there are: twice as many grade repeats and school transitions as non-foster youth, lower standardized test scores, and high rates of disciplinary action and suspensions. And what is most shocking is that half of all children in foster care drop out of school before graduating high school (yes, I said HALF!).

This webinar will provide guidance to middle school and high school counselors regarding what they legally must know about their population of children in care and what educationally focused interventions have been proven to be effective with youth in foster care. We will specifically discuss school records, special education, classroom support, school discipline and supportive adult roles. We will also briefly discuss guiding principles for educating foster youth in juvenile justice secure care settings.

Elizabeth Bowker, JD, LLM, is a licensed attorney in the State of Michigan. She currently works at the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan as a educational advocate for DHHS involved youth. Elizabeth graduated from Michigan State Law School with a J.D in 2009. She also has her masters from American Law School in public policy and her BA in Philosophy from The College of Wooster. Before joining SAC’s team four years ago, Elizabeth worked as a legislative assistant on the hill in the District of Columbia and worked as a legal researcher for Bloomberg in Manhattan.

Links

• FSM Guide: Getting to Know Child Welfare for Educators
• E-Brief: Trio Programs in Michigan
• Student Advocacy Center