Silicon Valley Children’s Fund: Emerging Scholars

Wanting to develop the pipeline for college ready foster youth students, the Silicon Valley Children’s Fund (SVCF) in 2010 launched the Emerging Scholars program. Emerging Scholars provides academic coaching to high school foster youth in grades 9 to 12 to develop and implement a graduation plan, and look ahead to post-secondary options.

The Emerging Scholars program offers intensive, one-on-one individualized services. Our academic coaches meet bi-weekly with their youth to check on progress, provide information and resources, and help foster youth stay motivated and on track. The coaches establish a personal relationship with the youth and from there encourage strong academic performance, while supporting and developing an academic plan for high school graduation. Coaches identify areas of need and potential remedies, attend to psychosocial issues affecting education, and help the foster youth identify, explore and plan for career options. Coaches also work proactively with the existing support system in place for each youth. To date, operating in Santa Clara County, Emerging Scholars has served over 100 youth who have reached high school completion levels consistently above 70%. Seventy-four (74%) of our 2015 high school graduates are now participating in SVCF’s YES higher education scholarship.

In 2016, the Emerging Scholars program expanded to also serve youth in San Mateo County.

The Emerging Scholars program was developed to address the significant academic needs of high school aged foster youth.  By the time they reach adolescence, most foster youth will never be returned to the care of their biological families.  Through their high school years, most will move several times.  Indeed, on average a foster youth will attend four different schools between 9th and 12th grade, moving for reasons that generally are beyond their control, and often in mid-year or even mid-semester.  Not only is this stressful for the student, but the connections are lost with care givers, teachers and school counselors who might have looked out for the student.  These frequent disruptions typically have significantly deleterious impacts on academic achievement as students lose as much as six months of progress with each school change (TreeHouse, 2016).  Left to manage these transitions on their own, most foster teens exhibit increasing deficits in their educational attainment.  A study conducted by the California Legislative Analyst’s Office in 2009 revealed that:

• 83% of foster youth are held back by third grade.
• Between K-12, 75% are performing below grade level.
• 47% receive special education services, compared to 12% of the general population.
• Only 46% complete high school, compared to 84% of the general population.

These difficulties in high school have implications throughout foster youths’ early adulthood.  While 70% of teens who leave foster care want to attend college, foster youth are less likely to enroll in college (Frerer, Sosenko & Henke, 2013).  Approximately 3% will ever earn a bachelor’s degree (vs. 29% of the general population; Courtney et. al, 2010) and only about 14% of former foster youth will earn more than 30 units in community college (Walter S. Johnson Foundation, California College Pathways Initiative).  Long-term outcomes for former foster youth are grim on other levels as well, including more trouble with law enforcement and higher levels of homelessness and unemployment (Courtney et al., 2010).  The Emerging Scholars program changes these outcomes for foster youth. 

The program serves high school aged foster youth who are dependents of either the San Mateo or Santa Clara County juvenile court, and youth under guardianship in San Mateo County.

Interns in the Emerging Scholars Program will:

• Provide education focused clinical case management throughout the academic year for 5 to 7 high school aged foster youth
• Support academic planning for high school aged foster youth
• Experience working in a multi-disciplinary team
• Become familiar with special education
• Learn to advocate for clients
• Learn how to effectively work with adolescents
• Acquire extensive knowledge of the foster care system
• Acquire knowledge of other services in which foster youth are involved (education, mental health services, ILP, etc.)
• Be prepared for a multitude of work opportunities upon graduation including county employment, work with attorneys in dependency and juvenile probation court, Facilitator on wrap service teams, social worker or mental health provider on school campuses, and more.

The following learning experiences are available:

• Extensive initial and ongoing training
• Three hours of weekly individual and group supervision
• Participation in staff meetings
• Consultation opportunities
• Case conferences
• Ongoing access to a field instructor

Duties:  Each intern will have tasks that are specific to his/her learning contract, skills, interests, and/or the needs of the program.  All interns will be responsible for the following:

1. Assess the educational needs of assigned students and the psychosocial issues that are impacting educational achievement, and create appropriate and realistic Educational/Academic Plans geared towards the goal of the youth.
2. Meet and collaborate with youth’s care provider, holder of educational rights, child welfare worker, attorney, school guidance counselor, Independent Living Program (ILP) case manager, and other stakeholders involved with the youth.
3. Participate and advocate in meetings that are held on behalf of students, including Student Attendance Review Board (SARB), Student Study Team (SST), Individualized Education Planning (IEP) meetings, Expulsion Hearings, Team Decision-Making (TDM) meetings, Emancipation Conferences, Family Conferences.
4. Inform care providers and child welfare workers of any school-related concerns.
5. Involve care providers, holders of educational rights and child welfare workers in school planning for students.
6. Consult with child welfare workers about the need for an Educational Representative or Surrogate Parent when an educational rights representative is not available or appropriate.
7. Research, refer and link students to mentoring/tutoring/ILP/enrichment services as needed.
8. Complete all necessary paperwork in a timely manner.
9. Familiarize themselves with, and understand the information within students’ Cumulative File (e.g., transcripts, IEPs, discipline, etc.).
10. Familiarize themselves with, and understand special education law, discipline (suspension, expulsion), and laws specific to dependents of the Juvenile Court (e.g., Assembly Bill 490, AB 167, AB12, McKinney-Vento Act).
11. Develop a working knowledge of child welfare system, Juvenile Court, and educational programs and resources in the community.

The following documentation will be required:

1. Contact Log and case notes each time a student is met with individually, in a group, or when consulting with collateral providers.  Intern will log case notes and contacts on a daily basis.
2. Student History, Intake and Exit Forms are updated by interns/staff and logged into the computer by the FYS intern when the information is gathered.
3. Client files are maintained by interns and will contain case notes, correspondence, copy of pertinent student records, and other related information.
4. Written Assessment of all students that are individually case managed.
5. End of year paperwork: At the end of the academic year all of the above paperwork should be up to date and filed in the individual students’ case folders or other appropriate files.  Interns should also provide:
   1. A brief termination summary of her/his work with each client,
   2. Copies of the most recent available transcript for each youth, and
   3. Copies of any papers (research or group work) written for university classes that used our clientele as subjects.

Interns will be offered a five-day initial training program to lay the foundation for the specific required knowledge base and preferred practice model for the Emerging Scholars program.  Topics covered will include, among others:

• Dependency System
• High School 101
• Impact of Trauma, and Trauma Competent work
• Strengths-based work
• Social-emotional learning
• Motivational Interviewing

Ongoing training is offered weekly throughout the year to deepen the initial training, and offer just-in-time training as needed.  Topics include, among others:

• Special Education
• Foster Youth Education law
• Transitional Housing
• Adolescent development and Adolescent Mental Health
• Financial Aid and College applications
• Working with LGBTQ youth
• Reflective Practice
• Tours of vocational post-secondary training sites
• Self-care

Interns will also have the opportunity to participate in specialized meetings such as MYTIME, 90-day transition meetings, court proceedings, etc.

A valid driver’s license is necessary for this internship, as well as regular access to a vehicle.

Mandated Reporter training is required, offered by the agency.  We require that our interns start in late August and remain in placement through the end of May, to work throughout the academic year with the youth they will serve.

The stipend amount is variable, depending on fundraising efforts.  Historically the stipend has been approximately $1,500, offered to BASW and MSW students.  There are no other particular requirements to receive the stipend other than completing and attending to all agreed upon intern/agency contractual agreements of the internship.

Interns in placed in San Mateo County will be reimbursed for mileage, while interns placed in Santa Clara county will be able to borrow county cars for their work functions.  All interns will be given a small budget to manage, to cover expenses when visiting with their youth (drinks, snacks, etc.). 

Name

Title

Phone Number

E-mail Address

Dominic Barragan, MSW

High School Pathways Coordinator II – San Mateo County

650-293-0950

Dominic.barragan@svcf.org

Tina Nelson, MSW

High School Pathways Coordinator II – Santa Clara County

408-455-9056

Tina.nelson@svcf.org