26% of Youth in Foster Care Have Disengaged from School During Pandemic

A new survey conducted by Treehouse finds that 26% of youth in foster care have disengaged from school during the pandemic. This is one of a few shocking findings that come from the survey pointing to more need for support within the foster care community.

Many parents are still uncertain about whether they will be homeschooling or allowing their children to partake in in-person classes. The news above indicates that foster youth and their families need access to more educational resources.

Key Findings

Treehouse a Seattle based nonprofit conducted a survey in July to find the emergent needs of the foster care community. The survey was based on the responses of 1,126 youths.

The Treehouse press release noted these key findings:

• 44% of foster and relative caregivers need more support in meeting the educational needs of youth in their homes.
• 37% of students with disabilities (42% of youth in care) have not received special education services.
• 25% of youth in care have lost academic progress as a result of the move to distance learning.
• 22% have one or more unmet basic needs (housing, food, clothing, etc.).
• 11% have experienced a placement change.
• 10% have had IEP assessments and meetings delayed.
• 5% have experienced a school change.

Take Action

Foster Love - Together We Rise has been a long time supporter of foster youth. Because of the pandemic, we have made several shifts to reduce harm in the community. One new initiative TWR stated to help fill this need is the Back 2 School Pack program.

We are asking people to help donate towards backs or sponsoring a service project to assemble Back 2 School Packs for foster youth in their community. One of our main objectives is to give foster youth all of the items they need to succeed.

Click here to help foster youth who have disengaged from school during the pandemic.