February 2015 TEXAS BLUEPRINT IMPLEMENTATION TASK FORCE FINAL REPORT

 Hon. Robert Hofmann, 452nd District Court, Chair  Sarah Abrahams, Systems Improvement Analyst, Texas Strategic Consulting, Casey Family Programs  Joy Baskin, Director of Legal Services, Texas Association of School Boards  Hon. Alyce Bondurant, Child Protection Court of North Texas  Edna Butts, Director, Intergovernmental Relations and Policy Oversight, Foster Care Liaison, Austin Independent School District  Cathy Cockerham, Training Director, Texas Court Appointed Special Advocates  Lori Duke, Clinical Professor, Children’s Rights Clinic, The University of Texas School of Law  Maya Guerra Gamble, Attorney at Law  Jenny Hinson, Division Administrator for Permanency, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services  Hon. Cathy Morris, Child Protection Court of South Texas  Wanda Peña, Senior Director, San Antonio Field Office, Casey Family Programs  Michael Redden, Executive Director, New Horizons Ranch and Center, Inc.  Jessica Sheely, Student, McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas  Ian Spechler, Staff Attorney, Disability Rights Texas  Julie Wayman, Director of Dropout Prevention and At-Risk Programs, Texas Education Agency TASK FORCE MEMBERS

TASK FORCE STRUCTURE Texas Blueprint Implementation Task Force Data and Information Sharing Workgroup School Stability Workgroup Training and Resources Workgroup

DATA WORKGROUP ACTION PLAN Activity 1. The exchange of aggregate data between agencies is routine and used to determine how children in foster care fare educationally and to evaluate improvement in those education outcomes over time Benchmark 1.0 By August 31, 2013, develop better understanding of the collection, organization, and application of data within agencies. No correlating Blueprint Strategy but underlying purpose of work group and needs to be addressed before moving forward with other priorities. Action Steps:Due Date:Responsible PartyProgress Update 1.Develop understanding of mechanics of TEA and DFPS agency data systems, including structure, data input, why collected, use of data, access to data, and other relevant aspects. July 24, 2013WorkgroupCompleted 2.Determine the type of data collected by each system.July 24, 2013WorkgroupCompleted 3.Identify how exchanged data is currently being used within each agency. August 31, 2013Workgroup Completed and ongoing. Revision to MOU includes data use language. 4.Obtain list of commonly used data elements and their definitions from each agency. October 10, 2013Nina TaylorCompleted 5.Identify data elements currently exchanged between agencies and frequency of exchange, such as, but not limited to: a.Disciplinary action b.Leaver status c.Special education d.Attendance e.Gifted and Talented October 10, 2013Nina TaylorCompleted 6.Assess if there are any barriers to collecting or sharing data. a.Explore whether collection of unique student id number by DFPS and use in data request will facilitate data exchange. September 30, 2013 and ongoing Workgroup Completed Completed. DFPS will request that field for unique student ID will be added to IMPACT update. 7.Document overview of TEA and DFPS agency data systems, including structure, data input, why collected, use of data, access to data, and other relevant aspects, including: a.the type of data collected by each system b.list of commonly used data elements and their definitions from each agency August 31, 2014Workgroup/Laura Marra/Brock Boudreau/Nina Taylor In progress

TEXAS BLUEPRINT RECOMMENDATIONS STATUS BY ISSUE AREA

TASK FORCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS Texas Blueprint Tools Agency Resources DataTraining Legislative

HB 2619, SB 832, SB 833, SB 1404 (83rd Session)  Consideration of educational needs and goals during Permanency and Placement Review Hearings  Attorneys and guardians ad litem must be knowledgeable about children’s educational needs and goals  Education Decision Maker provisions  Public Education Information Management System (“PEIMS”) indicator code added to identify children in foster care  TEA required to develop partial credit policy for students in foster care and other transition supports  School districts and open-enrollment charter schools to report the identities of foster care liaisons to TEA.  Excused school absences due to court-ordered appointments and activities related to Child Protective Services (“CPS”) cases LEGISLATIVE

 February 2013 – Texas’ first Foster Care and Education Summit attended by approximately 200 judges, school district and education service center representatives, DFPS and Texas CASA staff, and state level advocates  August 2013 – “Enhancing Attorney Advocacy for Well-Being Outcomes for Foster Children,” National Association of Counsel for Children, Atlanta  February 2014 – “Continuous Quality Improvement for Courts and Child Welfare: Collaboration to Improve Outcomes,” national online webinar by DFPS, TEA, and the Children’s Commission  June 2014 – “Do You Know Who Is Authorized To Make Education Decisions for the Kids on Your Docket?,” Disability Rights Texas, Child Welfare Judges Conference, Bastrop  July 2014 – “Education Issues for Students in Foster Care,” TASB Summer Leadership Institute, San Antonio and Fort Worth TRAINING

 Foster Youth Education Judicial Checklist  Education chapter in the Texas Child Protection Law Bench Book  TEA Foster Care and Student Success web page  Foster Care and Student Success Resource Guide  Children’s Commission Education website  DFPS intranet education web page  Texas CASA Education Advocacy Toolkit  Back to School Jurist in Residence Letter  DFPS Kinship Quarterly and Education Newsletters, Getting Ready for School Letter  “To the Administrator Addressed” Letters issued by TEA related to Foster Care and Student Success TOOLS

 Amended DFPS and TEA MOU to allow for greater flexibility in data exchange  Determined school year data will serve as baseline year for data  Formulated cross tabs about subsets of the population of students in foster care  The Casey Family Programs Shared Learning Collaborative and the Georgetown University Center for Juvenile Justice Reform Information Sharing Certificate Program, selected Texas teams to participate in national programs aimed at enhancing the exchange of aggregate data between DFPS and TEA DATA EXCHANGE

DFPS  devoted significant staff time at the state and regional levels  changed policy, practices, and residential contracts  modified its court report template  created form 2085-E Texas CASA  hosted online webinars regarding education  developed its Education Advocacy Toolkit TEA  dedicated a ½ FTE for a Foster Care Education and Policy Coordinator  included information on students in care in PEIMS Data Standards and TEA Student Attendance Accounting Handbook  incorporated the foster care liaison position into the Ask TED system TASB  devoted substantial time and resources  facilitated communication with school districts AGENCY RESOURCES

Challenges  Complicated topics in short timeframe  Resource allocation  Underrepresentation of rural populations on workgroups  Difficulty with long term participation of youth in care  Multi-tasking projects Successes  Collaboration  Multiple stakeholder perspectives  Regular meetings helped maintain momentum  Workgroup structure  Productivity LESSONS LEARNED FROM PHASE I

Create a standing Foster Care and Education Committee of the Children’s Commission, of a duration to be determined by the Children’s Commission, to meet quarterly, approve education- related initiatives, and monitor progress on collaborative projects. TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS

 Encourage cross-system, multi-disciplinary, and diverse membership from child welfare, education, youth, and advocacy stakeholders on the Foster Care and Education Committee.  Define a shared mission  Appoint Workgroups, as needed  Continue the Data Workgroup, continue to focus on school stability and training with a narrower focus  Explore the impact of Foster care Redesign on educational stability  Fostering Local Collaboration TASK FORCE ISSUES TO CONSIDER

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