Foster Youth Services

Foster Youth Services is an innovative state, grant-funded project created from Senate Bill 933 in 1998. The Foster Youth Services (FYS) program is designed to support the academic needs of foster youth, by providing advocacy, connection to tutoring, mentoring, appropriate instruction, and other support services, including assisting with health and education "passports," counseling, and out-of-school activities.

Purpose

FYS functions as a bridge between the Health and Human Services Agency and schools.  Collaboration with Foster Family Agencies, Social Services, Juvenile Probation, Mental Health and CASA is critical to the work of the FYS program and FYS has worked to create a common language for all those who serve foster youth.  FYS attempts to educate the many players regarding educational issues so they can advocate for their students.  All the service providers mentioned above, as well as school personnel (superintendents, administrators, counselors, etc), receive training on legal issues affecting foster youth, in particular AB 490 (see below).  

One component of the Mendocino County FYS program is helping foster youth gain employment which in addition to being an enormous self-esteem booster, is a way for them to learn workplace skills and earn money that they will need when they exit the system. The FYS County Coordinator, aka the Fairy Job Mother, modeled the work component after the SELPA Workability program that has a long history of success for students with IEPs.  The FYS Workability program is for foster youth who do not meet the criteria for special education.  The jobs found for these young people have taken many forms in order to address the interests of the kids . . . from an attorney's office to Quiznos, to car repair, the Public Library, the Ukiah Players Theatre . . . even a tattoo parlor.  

Collaboration

Collaboration with Foster Family Agencies is critical in providing ongoing support services to foster youth.  For our younger kids, in collaboration with Tapestry Family Services, students have created a mural which will grace the outside wall of the Tapestry building.  In addition to enriching their self-esteem through the creative process, the children gain a sense of being part of their community.

FYS collaboration with Redwood Childrens' Services includes having the FYS Coordinator sit on the team for Mendocino House, a nine-bed group home, which includes decision-making regarding bringing in new youth, and weekly case conferences for the youth who live there.  FYS is also an integral voice in determining what the next step is for youth between placements and those who are temporariliy living at Mendocino County Children's Center (MC3) in Willits.

AB490 Summary - Ensuring Educational Rights And Stability For Foster Youth

Effective January 1, 2004, AB 490 (Steinberg), Chapter 862, imposes new duties and rights related to the education of dependents and wards in foster care. The Act's key provisions are as follows:

• Establishes legislative intent that foster youth are ensured access to the same opportunities to meet academic achievement standards to which all students are held, maintain stable school placements, be placed in the least restrictive educational placement and, have access to the same academic resources, services and extracurricular and enrichment activities as all other children.  Makes clear that education and school placement decisions are to be dictated by the best interest of the child.
• Creates school stability for foster children by allowing them to remain in their school of origin for the duration of the school year when their placement changes and remaining in the same school is in the child's best interests.
• Requires county placing agencies to promote educational stability by considering in placement decisions the child's school attendance area.
• Requires Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) to designate a staff person as a foster care education liaison to ensure proper placement, transfer and enrollment in school for foster youth.
• Makes LEAs and county social workers or probation officers jointly responsible for the timely transfer of students and their records when a change of schools occurs.
• Requires that a comprehensive public school be considered as the first school placement option for foster youth.
• Provides that a foster child has the right to remain enrolled in and attend his/her school of origin pending resolution of school placement disputes.
• Allows a foster child to be immediately enrolled in school even if all typically required school records, immunizations, or school uniforms are not available.
• Requires an LEA to deliver the pupil's education information and records to the next educational placement within 2 days of receiving a transfer request from a county placing agency.
• Requires school districts to calculate and accept credit for full or partial coursework satisfactorily completed by the student and earned while attending a public school, juvenile court school or nonpublic, nonsectarian school.
• Authorizes the release of educational records of foster youth to the county placing agency, for purpose of compliance with WIC 16010, case management responsibilities required by the Juvenile Court or law, or to assist with transfer or enrollment of a pupil.
• Ensures that foster youth will not be penalized for absences due to placement changes, court appearances, or related court ordered activities.

One component of AB490 is to appoint a district liaison in every school district:

Mendocino County School District Liaisons

• Anderson Valley - Donna Pierson-Pugh 895-3010  dpp@mcn.org
• Fort Bragg - Lura Damiano 961-2850 x3519  ldamiano@mcoe.us
• Laytonville - Jayma Shields 984-8089  JaymaShields@pacific.net
• Leggett - Tamara Tardiff  925-6285 tamara@leggett.k12.ca.us
• Manchester - Cindy Gonzalez 882-2374  mansupt@mcn.org
• MCOE Coordinator- Abbey Kaufman 467-5104  ab@mcoe.us
• Mendocino - Andrea Arenas 937-5871  aarenas@mcn.org
• Mendocino College - Jacque Bradley 468-3106  jbradley@mendocino.edu
• Point Arena Joint Union High School/Arena Union Elementary- Holly Rawlins 882-2131 rawlins@mcn.org
• Potter Valley - Syd Renwick 743-1142 x222  srenwick@mcoe.us
• Round Valley - DeeDee Hurt 983-6171 x1-101  dhurt@covelo.k12.ca.us
• Ukiah - Jeanne Yttreness 472-5101  jyttreness@uusd.net
• Willits - Laura Sleeper 459-5314 x1101  laurasleeper@willitsunified.com

Please use the links in blue below to view/download . . .   

• a complete listing of all FYS County Coordinators throughout the state
• a flow chart of Educational Programs and Services in Mendocino County

Countywide Tutoring Resources

Please use this link to view/download Countywide Tutoring Resources