Education Advocacy

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Training Videos

OCLA Educational Stability of Foster Youth (January 22, 2024, 1:30-5:00 PM)

MCLE Activity ID: 2012388 | Valid through 01/21/2029 unless removed earlier. Please note that OCLA does not report attendance for viewing recorded or on-demand audio or video CLEs.

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Summary. Education is a critical component to positively impacting the lives of students who experience foster care. These students face significant educational challenges. On every academic measure, outcomes for students in foster care are lower than the outcomes of all other student groups, including students experiencing homelessness. Legislation, both federal and state, aims to improve the educational experience of foster care students by requiring courts and appointed attorneys to address school stability and ensure children in care stay connected to people and programs that matter to them. This session will describe the expanded roles in monitoring the educational well-being of children in care and how attorneys for children and youth can advocate for case level and system changes that support students in foster care.

Presenter(s).

  • Peggy Carlson serves as the Education Program Administrator at the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF). She has over twenty-five years of experience advocating for underserved youth. She is a member of the American Bar Association’s National Foster Care Community of Practice and has worked closely with the US Department of Education to develop a foster care exchange platform to improve practice around educational stability for students in foster care across the nation.
  • Stacey Klim currently serves as the Foster Care Program Supervisor at the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. As a former foster parent, high school teacher, IEP and Public Education Advocate, public policy activist, she has worked toward helping countless students get the education and services and supports needed to achieve their educational success while promoting more inclusive opportunities for marginalized student populations. Stacey is a proud mom of a son with disabilities and a daughter adopted through foster care (a foster care win!).

Presentation Slides & Other Materials.