California's Children

Realignment & timed-out fosters: hearings today on welfare trailer

Today, May 24, Room 112, Capitol Bldg., Sacramento. Agenda available here. Staff contact is Jennifer Troia, 916-319-2089.

The Senate Budget Subcommittee #3, chaired by state Senator Mark DeSaulnier, at left, will discuss the Child Welfare Services Realignment trailer bill language, including giving counties the "option" to implement the THP-Plus Foster Care program, a transitional housing program for "timed out" foster kids, ages 18-21 (See below for background story).

Chronic absenteeism: 7M+ poor school kids don't show up

May 23, 2012:  As many as 15% of K-12 students are chronically absent each year, estimate researchers at John Hopkins University (JHU) for a study commissioned by the Get Schooled Foundation, a non-profit that promotes initiatives to get youth more involved in their education.  

Chronic absenteeism is missing 10% or one month of the school year. (Standard is up to 5 absences.) Authors of the study, Robert Balfanz, at left, research scientist, and Vaughan Byrnes, from JHU's Center for Organization of Schools, put forth the argument that because data collection on chronic absentism is mandated by only a few states, the problem is not addressed -- an omission that undermines any reform efforts in public education. 

Richard Perez-Pena, reporting for the New York Times:

“There are so many efforts at school reform, but what people overlook is that none of them work if the kids don’t show up,” said Marie Groark, executive director of Get Schooled. Balfanz and Byrnes found that only six states — Georgia, Florida, Maryland, Nebraska, Oregon and Rhode Island — measure chronic absenteeism, as do some local systems, including New York City and Oakland, Calif. Based on data from those states, they estimated that in a given school year, nationwide, more than 10% percent and possibly as many as 15% of students miss at least one day in 10.

From the study [emphases ours]:

 If we apply these metrics to the roughly 50 million of enrolled grade school students, we estimate that 5-7.5 million students are not attending school on a regular basis. Half of these students are chronically absent in multiple years. The available evidence also tells that 25% of chronically absent students are severely chronically absent, which means missing more than 2 months of school each year.

Chronic absenteeism is most prevalent in low-income students. The youngest and oldest tend to have the highest rates...with students attending most regularly 3rd through 5th grade... it begins to rise in middle school and continues climbing through 12th grade, with seniors often having the highest rates of all. The data also suggests that it is concentrated in relatively few schools... with 15% of schools in Florida, for example, accounting for at least half of all chronically absent students. 

Written for California's Children by Elizabeth J Carlyle.

Alameda County, Target test food assistance thru public schools

May 18, 2012: Two schools in Oakland -- McClymonds High and Laurel Elementary -- are the focus of a pilot food assistance program conducted by the Alameda County Community Food Bank (ACCFB).

In a partnership with the discount retailer Target and the nonprofit, Feeding America, once a month ACCFB is distributing red cloth bags, stuffed with fresh vegetables, fruit, canned food and rice just before the end of the school day.

The program, Meals for Minds, is also known as the Mobile Pantry. Partner Target is no stranger to food assistance: two years ago, it donated $2.3 million to Feeding America and $1.2 million to local food banks nationwide to support mobile pantry school-based food programs. (The program at Laurel Elementary is Target-sponsored; the one at McClymonds High is funded through the ACCFB's general fund.) Next year, ACCFB hopes to expand to three more schools with the support of other businesses.

Kate Murphy, education writer for the Oakland Tribune reported on how the Mobile Pantry worked this past Tuesday: 160 people, all of whom were parents and caregivers of children at the school, collected nearly 1,480 pounds of food.

...The food bank reported a 29% increase in referrals to its emergency food help line from 2 years ago in the two ZIP codes nearest to Laurel Elementary; 71% percent of the children at Laurel Elementary are eligible for federally subsidized meals.

Written for California's Children by Elizabeth J Carlyle.

Photo: Ximena and Judy Hernandez pick up free food bags with other families of Laurel Elementary students from the Alameda County Food Bank in Oakland on Tuesday, May 15, 2012. (Laura A. Oda/Oakland Tribune)

SFUSD: healthy food may have improved behavior by 50%

IMay 17, 2012: Susan Frey, a program associate at EdSource, has released an "occasional paper," outlining the efforts of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) to provide kids with healthier food choices.

Interviewed for the paper,"San Francisco’s Long Campaign to Provide Healthier School Meals Yields Results," was Dana Woldrow, healthy school food advocate and volunteer chair of SFUSD's Student Nutrition and Physical Activity Committee (SNPAC). Woldrow describes the district's transformation from a two-tiered system--regular lunch and a la carte (potato chips, sodas and snack cakes, for those who can pay)--to the one today that has salad bars, has eliminated all trans fats (fried food), and offers a daily vegetarian entree in all district schools.

Patricia Gray, above, SFUSD assistant superintendent, thinks that eliminating the unhealthiest items and providing fresh fruit snacks contributed toward a reduction in referrals for discipline to her office by about half, particularly for “bad behavior after lunch.”

But it does so at a cost. In these tough budgetary times, the food service runs a deficit every year—more than $3 million last year. District children have healthy meals each day because the school board has decided to make it a priority, closing the deficit with monies from the district’s unrestricted general fund, which was more than $300 million in 2010–11.

The system is inherently flawed, Woldow points out, because the federal reimbursement for lunches is the same for all 48 contiguous states despite the differences in cost of living.

Eligibility for the free and reduced-price meals program...does not take into account the higher cost of living in California...Unlike many districts, San Francisco also does not charge students the 40 cents for reduced-price meals either.

In 2009, Ed Wilkins, SFUSD's director of Student Nutrition Services, decided to eliminate the a la carte menu and create a card system that all students could use...removing the [potential] stigma [of] ...participating in the ...subsidized program. The card program was implemented district-wide in 2010–11. Now the only items left on the a la carte menu are bottled water, 100% fruit juice, and low-fat, lower-sugar cookies.

The district [still] needs more federal, state, or local funds to make the costs of distributing food and buying it from local vendors sustainable, Wilkins said...adding that policymakers...need to understand that healthy food does not come cheaply.

EdSource, founded in 1977, is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to clarify complex education issues and to promote thoughtful policy decisions about public school improvement. Louis Freedberg, founding director of California Watch, is executive director.

Written for California's Children by Elizabeth J Carlyle. 

Timed-out foster kids: one more year on the street, tks to red tape

May 11, 2012: The 2,863 CA foster kids who turn 19 this year face a crucial gap in housing support -- due to the phase-in process of a new law meant to solve the immediate problems of "timing out."

The  California Fostering Connections to Success Act (AB 12, Beall), extends vital housing support to age 20 for "timed-out" foster youth (those transitioning out of the foster care system because they are no longer age-eligible). This year, however, foster children who  turn 19 will be dropped from the system until January 1, 2013, when they can reapply for help.

Foster youth are particularly vulnerable to housing issues, even while in the foster care system; for many, the gap in support may prove insurmountable.

A 2010 study conducted by researchers at Chapin Hall, University of Chicago, interviewed more than 700 foster youth between the ages of 18 and 24: only 6% by age 24 were college graduates, more than 2/3 of the young women had children, 45% of the males had been incarcerated, and 37% had experienced homelessness or couch-surfed at some point after leaving foster care.

Further, a 2011 study of the outcomes for youth exiting dependent or delinquent care in Los Angeles County, where nearly 1,000 of the shut-out kids of '12 are living, found that half of so-called crossover youth (those who are involved in both foster and probation systems) experienced a period of extreme poverty, typically earning less than $14,000 total over the first four years. The use of public assistance was substantial: 82% of crossover youth and 68% of timed-out foster kids accessed welfare benefits during the first four years after exiting the system.

Some counties are covering the cost to bridge the gap (e.g., San Francisco, Alameda, Los Angeles and Orange); however, most counties, already burdened with providing extra services due to state realignment, are leaving it largely up to the foster youth to find their own shelter.

Theresa Harrington reports for the Contra Costa Times:

Amy Lemley, policy director for the John Burton Foundation, lamented that these decisions could come down to money. She said the lack of support could force some foster youths onto the streets, and in the worst cases, crime.

"The number of foster youths that are going to turn 19 is not massive," she said. "And the difference continued support can make for these young people can't be overstated."

"These are young people who are out on a limb and if we don't offer them this kind of guidance and support we know they will experience homelessness, unemployment and -- I think the most troubling -- criminal justice involvement," Lemley added. "For a relatively modest investment, the county can play an important role in steering these young people toward a better, brighter future."

The cost to extend foster care varies depending on where youths live and the services they receive. The lowest cost is about $776 a month for placement with a relative caregiver or foster family. That includes care, food and housing, Lemley said.

Written for California's Children by Elizabeth J Carlyle.