1. CITY OF PHILADELPHIA Department of Human Services Education Support Center September 27, 2013
Promoting Educational Stability, Continuity,
& Well-Being for Children involved with DHS
Anne Marie Ambrose, Commissioner

2. Project U-Turn
Project U-Turn is a citywide initiative to understand, focus public attention on, and, most important, resolve Philadelphia's dropout crisis.
In 2006, Project U-Turn issued a study called The Unfilled Promise detailing poor educational outcomes for youth in Philadelphia.
One-third of city dropouts are/have been involved in DHS care.
Approximately 70% who had a substantiated case of abuse or neglect during high school years dropped out.
75% who had a foster care placement never finished high school.
90% who had a juvenile justice placement during high school dropped out.

3. Mayor Michael Nutter’s Education Goals
In 2008, Mayor Michael A. Nutter established his Office of Education to build networks for communication and collaboration between and among key partners and identify common ground on which all stakeholders including K-12 schools, the business community, higher education, and the nonprofit sector can work collectively.
Goals
Increase the high school graduation rate to 80% by 2015.
Double the percentage of residents with a 4-year college degree to 36% by 2018. 3

4. DHS Education Support Center
Goal
Improve educational stability, continuity, and well-being for children involved with DHS (dependent, delinquent, in-home protective services, and prevention services)
DHS Education Support Center 4 4

5. DHS Education Support Center Functions
ESC is staffed with liaisons to
Help identify and remove educational barriers for children involved with DHS to include dependent, delinquent, and those receiving prevention services
Work with DHS social work teams, provider agency workers, school counselors, and school social work staff to ensure a successful academic experience for children who present early warning indicators in the areas of poor academic performance, chronic absenteeism, and delinquent behavior 5 5

6. Education Support Center Updates
School District of Philadelphia’s
Student Transition Center
The Center is staffed by a multidisciplinary team of 3 SDP transition liaisons, a juvenile probation officer, a DHS social worker, and a CBH mental and behavioral health liaison.
The Education Support Center works collectively with the SDP Student Transition Center to enroll DHS-involved students who are entering, returning, or transitioning to District schools within hours of school assignment.
Education Support Center Updates 6

7. National Focus on Well-Being
McKinney
Vento
Act
Fostering Connections
Act 7

8. Educational Stability and Out-of-Home Care National Indicators
Schools are a place where students who are subjected to abuse and/or neglect can experience consistency and continuity, as well as supportive relationships with teachers and peers. When a student enters foster care, it often results in one or more school changes.
School moves can result in 6 months of lost learning
Youth who have had one fewer placement change per year are almost twice as likely to graduate from high school before leaving care
Early Warning Indicators

9. DHS Education Support Center Collaboration
Cross-training for DHS and Provider and School District of Philadelphia Personnel
Training and outreach with/for school personnel
Reporting abuse and neglect and connecting with community resources
Educational stability for children and youth involved with DHS
Forum planning and co-facilitation
Quarterly Education Stability Cross-Collaborative Meetings with SDP and Community Behavioral Health
December 2010, DHS holds Education town hall meeting with DHS Staff and School District Staff
Second town hall meeting to be held in Fall 2013 9

10. Most Significant Achievement MOU = Information Sharing
Purpose:
Significantly IMPROVE collaboration and coordination of services and resources
Allowed DHS and the School District of Philadelphia to share information on a case-by-case basis and in aggregate
Allowed DHS to share information with Mastery Charter School—one of the largest Charter operators in the city
Mapping children and youth in DHS care by
Educational indicator
Identifying kids with high risk of dropping out
Coordinating communication and interventions to address educational barriers such as re-enrollment, truancy, and transportation
Most Significant Achievement
MOU = Information Sharing 10

11. DHS and School District of Philadelphia MOU = Information Sharing
Name, student ID #
Demographics
All schools attended
Attendance
Disciplinary record
Grades for all subjects
High school credits
Special education status and records (IEP)
Standardized test scores
Name, case #, and suffix
Name and contact information for DHS worker, supervisor, administrator
Provider agency and contact information
Type of placement
Placement and discharge date, placement zip code
Status of investigation if Mastery is reporter
Court dates
Status of parents’ education rights 11

12. Citywide Collaboration
Mayor’s Office of Education convened a stakeholder group to look at quality of education for foster youth
DHS School District, Advocates, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Policy Lab
CHOP helped us analyze data for system-involved youth as to various performance indicators
June 2013, 1st Education Quality Service Review
Partnering with SDP, Mayor’s Office of Education, CHOP Policy Lab to review education outcomes for children in foster care
Case presentation and review for systemic recommendations

13. Education Stability, Continuity, and Well-Being
On January 13, 2013, President Obama signed the Uninterrupted Scholars Act (USA), which revises the Family Education Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA) to make it easier for child welfare agencies to access education records for children and youth who are court committed to their custody. 13

14. Helping Our School District Partners: Beyond the MOU
School Funding Crisis in Philadelphia
Social Service Supports have been critically cut
DHS is deploying 4 social workers into city schools to support youth in crisis and prevent penetration into the Child Welfare System
Schools identified based on data and mapping
DHS in process of hiring Education Stability Coordinator to work as a liaison between schools, DHS, and Court
DHS is hiring a social worker to work to stabilize education for children involved in the Juvenile Justice System 14

15. Contact Information 15