Foster care and education

While watching the State of the Union address on Tuesday I was reminded of how challenging it is to move beyond worthy aspirations and truly effect change. In the world of partisan gridlock I can’t help but wonder what if anything can be accomplished in such a dysfunctional environment. Perhaps the most difficult thing about such an impasse is the negative impact it has on the lives of the most vulnerable.

The fiscal constraints of the last several years have considerably weakened the capacity of public education systems. School districts like Los Angeles Unified School District and Pasadena Unified School District are struggling to meet the needs of their students, especially those with learning challenges. In particular this is true for children served in foster care.  Recently, a study about the education of school-aged children and youth in the foster care system was released by The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning. The study is a “first-ever education snapshot” of all K-12 students in foster care in California.

Some of the findings, although not surprising, were nevertheless sobering when you consider how essential education is for success. The study shows that students in foster care:

• Were more likely than other students to change schools during the school year.
• Were more likely to be enrolled in the lowest-performing schools.
• Had the lowest participation rate in statewide testing.
• Were older for their grade level than the other student groups. 
• Had the highest drop out rate and lowest graduation rate. 

 In addition,

• Only 37 percent of foster care students were proficient in math, the lowest of all other students, including those with disabilities or with limited English.  
• Nearly one in five students in foster care was classified with a disability and had a higher rate of emotional disturbance.         

For the children and youth in the foster care system today, the aspirations of well-intended government officials offer little consolation. For them to wait for the political process to bring about change is unacceptable. Their needs are immediate. What is at risk is their future! For us at Hillsides, the dilemma is urgent because these are our children and we can not fail them.

Since discouragement is not an option we have marshaled our own resources to augment the inadequate public funds we receive for education and have engaged an ever generous community of supporters to help the children and youth we serve defy the odds.

In particular, we do this by enlisting the help of between 45-70 volunteers at any given time who serve as tutors and mentors to provide the indispensable one-on-one attention and instruction that has helped those we serve out-perform other students in the foster care system.

Rob Wherley, one of our teachers at the Hillsides Education Center, began a reading program in September for struggling readers at the school. The program is called Reading Rocks and currently utilizes six tutors to serve 25 students who are struggling readers.  These students read at a level that is far below that which is expected by the state of California.  All of the 22 students have shown steady improvement in reading skills.  Currently, 17 of these students are on track to make a full grade level jump in reading performance and five of these students are on track to make a two grade level jump by the end of the school year.  The goal of the Reading Rocks Program is to “make up for lost time” by providing the individualized intensive intervention necessary to get students back to grade level reading expectations.

We may struggle to get the political system to be effective, but with the help of innovative staff and the generous support of volunteers we are helping our students to achieve and create lasting change. For more information on how you can volunteer as a tutor or mentor, please contact Laura Kelso, director of community resources.

Non-violence dream

This week we celebrated the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. As I was reflecting on the significance of Dr. King’s life, I was struck by his commitment to confront the injustice of racial inequality exclusively through non-violent means. This approach was embraced in spite of the movement being the object of considerable violence. He himself was savagely slain. No one was spared the hatred, including some innocent children who perished in the Birmingham church bombing. Retaliation would have been easy to justify, but rather the “weapon” chosen by the civil rights movement was shear conviction and determination to confront hatred with non-violence, knowing full well that some would bear the ultimate sacrifice.

Violence has become a pervasive element of our society and culture, manifested in many ways, some blatant others less obvious. When I consider the lives of the many children, youth, and families we serve I can not help but be struck by the violence that they have experienced. The stories, in some instances, are horrific and the reaction visceral as we deal with piecing back together children and families who have been torn apart by brutal acts of neglect and abuse, both physical and emotional.

Certainly justice demands punishment and consequences for the perpetrators. Although as satisfying as that may be as with the civil rights movement, that is not the remedy to the injustice, rather only the consequence for the violence. Something more is needed to bring about change. This is where the dream of nonviolence comes to play.

For us at Hillsides we have a dream for those we serve-- a vision of creating lasting change in lives by restoring hope and freeing them from harm. It is a realistic hope that healing can come about, well-being can once again be established, and a stable caring relationship will serve as the foundation for a successful future.

In the past year we have embarked in a process of creating a heightened awareness of how trauma impacts the lives of all we serve. Like anything that is ubiquitous, it is easy to underestimate the subtle impact of trauma in our lives and how unwittingly we contribute to further traumatizing those who are so vulnerable.

It is very challenging to maintain such a heightened sense of awareness, but gradually it is helping us to create a better environment for both clients and staff, one that effectively mitigates the impact of trauma and restores hope.

Dreams are important because they have the ability to motivate and, therefore, create lasting change. The Martin Luther King Day celebrations invite us to embrace the dream of lives freed from violence and inspire us to devote all our energies to realizing this great vision.

Hillsides' war on poverty

Fifty years ago this month, President Johnson initiated this nation’s war on poverty. Much has been accomplished and yet much is still left to be done. Poverty is at the root of so many challenges that we face as a country. Frequently we get engrossed in many issues regarding child welfare that more often than not would substantially be alleviated if the grip of poverty could be lessened.

In spite of tremendous efforts over the past half-century, Los Angeles County has the highest poverty rate in the nation at 22 percent; nationally the poverty rate is 16 percent. With numbers like these you have to ask what has been the impact of the war on poverty. A typical drive through the County easily demonstrates the great disparities that exist between classes, races, and ethnic groups. Certainly all of the families we serve are indeed poor or are barely surviving against overwhelming odds that place them at risk for succumbing to poverty.

Typical challenges like finding affordable housing, managing an improving but still inadequate public transportation system, accessing good education and child care and maneuvering a nevertheless relatively expensive health care system quickly become insurmountable obstacles when unemployment, disability, and addiction become part of the mix.

For the families we serve, the struggle to avoid poverty is constant and requires their unwavering effort. Nevertheless their stories are of courageous people who in spite of the challenges persevere grateful for the support offered to them and their children. Like perhaps no one else, they know what is required to break the cycle of poverty and are focused on leveraging the services that they receive to create a subsequent generation that is raised up beyond the basic survival they endure.

All the rhetoric about the battle against poverty is empty if the essential services that are necessary to combat poverty are underfunded and easily eliminated. There is no question that there is a corollary with, a poorly funded educational system, lack of access to affordable health care and the rising costs of housing and transportation. These are the fundamental issues often sacrificed in times of economic constraint that undermine the effort of the poor to simply educate their children, live modestly, and sustain a decent job. Is it any wonder that the poverty rate continues to be as significant as it is?

Our efforts at Hillsides, although targeted to address very specific needs of the children, youth and families we serve, become critical sources of support to help them develop the capacity to break the cycle of poverty. Whether it is the individualized education we offer, the array of comprehensive mental health services, the intensive care offered through our residential treatment services or the outreach available to youth transitioning from the foster care system, all these are important pieces in an arsenal to support those we serve as they wage war on poverty.

Clearly good intentions and grandiose plans have not been successful at easing the challenges of the poor. More than ever this important historic point is an opportunity to learn some lessons and recalibrate our efforts so as to be much more effective. Although public funds are essential, they must be matched with private resources and determination by all parties to never settle for anything less than victory over poverty. 

New Year's resolutions

The weeks between Christmas and New Year’s Day is a great time at Hillsides as residents come and go from day trips and family visits. School has not been in session so it is a less structured period when residents and staff in smaller groups can engage in fun, relaxing activities that help to reset the agenda for each child as we plan for the beginning of the new year.

For all of us, this is a time to assess the past year and identify goals for the new year. The key, of course, is to establish reasonable and attainable goals so when we achieve them, a sense of accomplishment develops.

The individual goals for each child and family in our care are specific but they fall within some general categories: staying safe, improving their sense of well-being, and finding their way back home. No matter the individual details, all the goals fall within these three categories.

Staying safe

Although certain measures are in place to assure safety, it has more to do with the frame of mind than the physical setting. Unsafe activities are generated by feelings of desperation that can lead to entertaining risky or unsafe behavior. More than anything else, being sensitive to the traumas that have been experienced and supporting relationships that allow our residents to address those traumas are essential to keeping them safe.

Improving well-being

Related to this, of course, is the provision of quality care that is focused and individualized, oriented to effectively address issues that result in an improvement of behavior, an understanding of the causes, and measurable progress towards improvement. This is easier said than done, but absolutely essential if the child and their family can hope to be restored as a family unit.

Finding their way back home

These elements of safety and well-being are the foundation for establishing a pathway towards stability and permanency so that disruptive patterns can be broken and hope for normalcy established.

These are significant goals that are important to achieve but I am reminded that without the support we receive from so many, we would be hard pressed to accomplish much. As we have in the past, during the holiday season we count on the generosity of the community to help us create a memorable holiday for all we serve. Again this year we were truly blessed by an outpouring of generosity allowing us to fulfill the many “wishes” that had been conveyed to us by all those we serve. Thank you to all who so generously supported us during the holiday season. Such amazing contributions allow us to support the children, youth, and families we serve as they start the new year hopeful that the goals and dreams that they have for 2014 will be realized.