Foster Youth Success | Riverside County Office of Education

Statistics showing educational performance, attendance, suspension, and post-secondary success by foster students, consistently fall below the outcomes from almost every other student group.

To address these disparities, the Riverside County Office of Education launched the Foster Youth Success Initiative during the 2024-2025 school year, focusing on helping foster students transition from surviving to thriving.

The Foster Youth Success Initiative offers comprehensive support, ranging from individualized student tools and foster parent resources to educator training and programs that bridge the gap to higher education. By fostering collaboration between schools, communities, and government entities, this initiative aims to ensure that foster students receive the essential services and support they need to be successful.

Infographic showing initiative areas of focus, outlined below, supporting improved outcomes for foster youth.

Areas of Focus

Academic Support

Support for Families

Assess the process for determining and transferring educational rights for foster youth—specifically for students with an individualized educational plan (IEP) or other accommodations.
Identify gaps in knowledge for students and families as they navigate the educational and social services systems.
Determine prevention and early intervention strategies for biological families that may avert initial engagement with foster care system.

Social and Emotional Support

Interagency Communication and Collaboration

District Support and Capacity Building

Stability and Continuity

Transition Planning

Foster Youth Data in California and Riverside County

Foster youth enrolled in public schools during the 2023-2024 school year include 29,815 in California and 2,934 in Riverside County (DataQuest, California Department of Education)
Approximately 60% of California foster youth graduate from high school, compared with 86% of non-foster youth, according to the California Department of Education (CDE) Foster Youth Data and Statistics (data from 2022-2023 school year). Foster youth data reveals higher rates of dropout, chronic absenteeism, suspension, and frequent school changes/school instability.
Foster youth enrolled in college within one year after graduating nearly 20% less often than non-foster youth, according to 2021-2022 school year data (DataQuest, CDE).
Less than 4% of foster youth in California complete a four-year degree, according to the California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study from 2021.

Supporting Foster Youth in Riverside County

Back to School Resource Fair Highlights

Two Back to School Resource Fair events were held in the summer of 2024 for students in foster care, and families experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.

The Riverside County Office of Education partnered with many organizations to ensure students had what they needed to have a great start to the school year.

Get to know our partners and read more about the event in the press release:

1,465 Students Receive Free Shoes and Backpacks at Back to School Resource Fairs (8/8/2024)

Lake Elsinore USD Expands Support for Foster Students

Like many school districts in California, the Lake Elsinore Unified School District (LEUSD) found that their foster student population was increasing with each passing year. District leaders were confronted with the reality that the diverse needs of foster students were not sufficiently being met, and a plan of action was needed to equitably address this specific population.

The story behind how LEUSD’s Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAP) were updated to address foster students’ needs is featured in this episode of the LCAP Live! video series from 2023.

Partnerships

Riverside County Office of Education (RCOE) is proud to partner with the following organizations to ensure the success of foster youth across the county.

Agencies

Colleges and Universities

County Offices of Education

Organizations

If you would like to partner with RCOE to improve outcomes for foster youth, please contact Amanda Corridan (acorridan@rcoe.us).

Riverside County Office of Education

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