A high percentage of children in foster care receive special education services, but little is known about the academic and social problems found in this population. Searches of school archival records and brief interviews with school personnel were used to obtain measures of the school-related problems of four groups of students: those receiving both foster care and special education for emotional or behavioral disorders (FCED), foster care only (FC), special education only (ED), or neither (N). Group FCED was found to exhibit more school-related problems and Group N to exhibit fewer problems than the comparison groups; Groups FC and ED did not differ significantly. Suggestions for further research and implications for developing comprehensive, collaborative systems of care are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Public Welfare Association. (1993). Characteristics of children in substitute and adoptive care.Washington, DC: Author.
2.
Bauer, A. M. (1993). Children and youth in foster care. Intervention in School and Clinic, 28, 134–142.
3.
Benedict, M. I., & White, R. B. (1991). Factors associated with foster care and length of stay. Child Welfare, 70, 45–58.
4.
Dubow, E. F., & Ippolito, M. F. (1994). Effects of poverty and quality of the home environment on changes in the academic and behavioral adjustment of elementary school-age children. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 23, 401–412.
5.
Dubowitz, H., & Sawyer, R. J. (1994). School behavior of children in kinship care. Child Abuse and Neglect, 18, 899–911.
6.
Duncan, B., Forness, S. R., & Hartsough, C. (1995). Students identified as seriously emotionally disturbed in day treatment: Cognitive, psychiatric, and special education characteristics. Behavioral Disorders, 20, 238–252.
7.
Edgar, E., & Siegel, S. (1995). Postsecondary scenarios for troubled and troubling youth. In J. M. Kauffman, J. W. Lloyd, D. P. Hallahan, & T. A. Astuto (Eds.), Issues in educational placement: Students with emotional or behavioral disorders (pp. 251–283). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
8.
Fanshel, D., Finch, S. J., & Grundy, J. F. (1989). Foster children in life-course perspective: The Casey Family Program experience. Child Welfare, 68, 467–478.
9.
Fanshel, D., Finch, S. J., & Grundy, J. F. (1990). Foster children in a life course perspective.New York: Columbia University Press.
10.
Fanshel, D., & Shinn, E. B. (1978). Children in foster care: A longitudinal investigation.New York: Columbia University Press.
11.
Fox, M., & Arcuri, K. (1980). Cognitive and academic functioning in foster children. Child Welfare, 59, 491–496.
12.
General Accounting Office. (1993). Foster care: Services to prevent out-of-home placements are limited by funding barriers.Washington, DC: Author.
13.
Goerge, R. M. (1990). The reunification process in substitute care. Social Service Review, 64, 422–457.
14.
Goerge, R. M., Voorhis, J. V., Grant, S., Casey, K., & Robinson, M. (1992). Special-education experiences of foster children: An empirical study. Child Welfare, 71, 419–437.
15.
Hart, B., & Risley, T. R. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children.Baltimore: Brookes.
16.
Hill, B. K., Hayden, M. F., Lakin, K. C., Menke, J., & Amado, A. R. N. (1990). State-by-state data on children with handicaps in foster care. Child Welfare, 69, 447–462.
17.
Horner, P. L. (1981). Family vulnerability to child-induced stresses: Additional considerations for foster placement of "difficult" children. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 18, 42–46.
18.
Kauffman, J. M. (1993). Characteristics of emotional and behavioral disorders of children and youth (5th ed.). New York: Merrill/Macmillan.
19.
Knapp, M. S. (1995). How shall we study comprehensive, collaborative services for children and families?. Educational Researcher, 24(4), 5–16.
20.
Koyanagi, C., & Gaines, S. (1993). A guide for advocates for "All Systems Failure:" An examination of the results of neglecting the needs of children with serious emotional disturbance.Alexandria, VA: National Mental Health Association.
21.
McLaughlin, M. J., Leone, P. E., Warren, S. H., & Schofield, P. F. (1994). Doing things differently: Issues and options for creating comprehensive school-linked services for children and youth with emotional or behavioral disorders.College Park: University of Maryland, Institute for the Study of Exceptional Children and Youth.
22.
Nelson, C. M., & Pearson, C. A. (1991). Integrating services for children and youth with emotional and behavioral disorders.Reston, VA: Council for Exceptional Children.
23.
Pardeck, J. T. (1983). An empirical analysis of behavioral and emotional problems of foster children as related to re-placement in care. Child Abuse and Neglect, 7, 75–78.
24.
Quinn, K. P., Epstein, M. H., & Cumblad, C. L. (1995). Developing comprehensive, individualized, community-based services for children and youth with emotional and behavior disorders: Direct service providers' perspectives. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 4, 19–42.
25.
Reyome, N. D. (1989). A comparison of the school performance of sexually abused, neglected, and nonmaltreated children. Paper presented at the Eighth National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, Salt Lake City.
26.
Rutter, M. (1985). Family and school influences on behavioural development. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 26, 349–368.
27.
Rutter, M. (1990). Psychosocial resilience and protective mechanisms. In J. Rolf, A. S. Masten, D. Cicchetti, K. H. Neuchterlein, & S. Weintraub (Eds.), Risk and protective factors in the development of psychopathology (pp. 181–214). Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
28.
Sawyer, R. J., & Dubowitz, H. (1994). School performance of children in kinship care. Child Abuse and Neglect, 18, 587–597.
29.
Sheehan, S. (1993a, January 11). A lost childhood. The New Yorker, 54–85.
30.
Sheehan, S. (1993b, January 18). A lost motherhood. The New Yorker, 52–79.
31.
Stroul, B. A., & Friedman, R. M. (1986). A system of care for seriously emotionally disturbed children and youth.Washington, DC: Georgetown University Child Development Center, Child and Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP) Technical Assistance Center.
32.
U.S. Department of Education. (1994). Sixteenth annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.Washington, DC: Author.
33.
Walker, H. M., Block-Pedego, A., Todis, B., & Severson, H. (1991). School Archival Records Search: User's guide and technical manual.Longmont, CO: Sopris West.
34.
Walker, H. M., Colvin, G., & Ramsey, E. (1995). Antisocial behavior in school: Strategies and best practices.Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
35.
Weisz, V. G. (1994). Consequences of placement for children who are abused. In J. Blacher (Ed.), When there's no place like home: Options for children living apart from their natural families.Baltimore: Brookes.
36.
Wolfkind, S. (1978). Fostering the disturbed child. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 19, 393–397.
37.
Wulczyn, F. H., & Goerge, R. M. (1992). Foster care in New York and Illinois: The challenge of rapid change. Social Service Review, 66(2), 278–294.
