Structuring policies and practices to support educational resilience of foster youth

Foster Youth Educational Resilience Literature ReviewIn a new white paper, researchers at the Texas Institute for Child & Family Wellbeing (TXICFW) explore how to support the educational resilience of foster youth through policy and practice.

Foster youth have poor educational outcomes compared to youth not in foster care due to frequent moves while in care and lack of caregiver stability. Drawing on resilience theory, this paper presents a conceptual framework for structuring policies and practices to promote educational resilience of foster youth. Researchers highlight practices and policies from states as well as future directions.

State-level approaches include providing youth in foster care with educational liaisons and integrating the coordination of services, guidance, counseling and tutoring for youth. Little has been done at the national level, with most studies focusing on specific school districts or counties. While some studies show promising results for different interventions and models, these remain largely fragmented. Additionally, it remains to be seen whether these models can effectively expand to foster youth in other parts of the country with other characteristics. Additionally, little research has been done on resilience in foster youth, especially related to educational resilience. Instead of focusing on what is working for some children in care, most published studies identify the problems and difficulties that these youth face. These studies offer little guidance for better practices and policies that could help youth achieve their educational goals and succeed in academic settings.

This white paper series is part of Upbring’s renewed focus on breaking the cycle of child abuse through excellence in services, advocacy, and thought leadership. Together with its strategic partners, Upbring aims to develop a continuum of services building protective factors in education, health, safety, life skills, and vocation for Texas children.

Read the white paper:

Structuring policies and practices to support educational resilience of foster youth