Face of Foster Care - Meet Roland
After overcoming academic struggles in middle school, Roland now attends high school and already looks forward to college. He will soon complete his sophomore year before taking the SAT and ACT as a junior. However, Roland still experiences anxiety regarding testing despite the support he receives in foster care.
His counselor suggested taking a college entrance prep class, but Roland will need to cover the cost of enrollment and transportation himself as a foster child.
Educational Challenges for Foster Children
Children in foster care face several challenges in education. According to the American Bar Association, only 50% of foster children and youth graduate high school by age 18. Some of the reasons behind low graduation rates include:
High Rate of Mobility - Many foster children and families frequently move, changing schools and disrupting educational stability.
Lack of Resources - Despite the love shown by foster parents, most kids who enter foster care find themselves at a financial disadvantage regarding educational resources.
Healing Trauma - The transition to the foster care system can prove traumatic, especially if it involves the separation of siblings or removal from kinship care.
Funding Educational Readiness
Speak Up for Kids helps fund educational readiness by supporting guardian ad litem efforts while providing tutoring assistance to kids in the child welfare system. The guardian ad litem program in Palm Beach, FL, supports abused, neglected children in group homes by providing normalcy, love, and support.
In return, guardians ad litem and foster parents benefit from knowing they’ve made substantial short-term and long-term impacts on minors who remain unable to care for themselves, educationally and otherwise.
