Hello, we’re Kathey and Rob Raskin of Las Vegas and we care about kids in the foster care system throughout this great country. Our nation’s child protection services must do better and now a lawsuit could help get these children the care they require.
Foster children across the nation and in Indiana probably won’t graduate from high school, and very few will go to college. However, foster children are seldom included in state-level conversations regarding how Indiana is educating its children.
The Indiana Department of Education has practically no data on how the 30,000 children in foster care do in school, a group near the size of Indiana’s biggest school district. Indiana saw the second sharpest climb in the country’s of foster children population between 2012 and 2016, of 60%.
To determine the issues affecting foster students, lawmakers and advocates are suggesting a bill which would require the Departments of Education and Child Services to share information on foster students in the state. So far, House Bill 1314 has seen wide-ranging bipartisan support.
Brent Kent, CEO of Indiana Connected By 25, a foster child advocacy group, stated, “Youth in foster care […] have no one speaking for them. The state is their parent … we will see for the first time, foster youth side-by-side with other peer groups and how they are performing.”
The bill, written by Granger Republican Rep. Dale DeVon, would set up information sharing between Indiana’s education and child services departments. It would also require the Indiana State Board of Education to release a yearly report about foster youth education.
About 50% of the foster children in the nation will graduate from high school by age 19, and only about 3% will go on to complete college, per a report from the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative.
Kent said collecting data is a huge leap forward as few states do it. Indiana already reports student data separated by income level, gender and age, race, ethnicity, among other factors. If the bill becomes law, foster care status would become a part of this data as well.
Demetrees Hutchins, a researcher from Indiana University and a former foster kid, said it’s “deplorable” how little foster children go on to college. She said this bill can help state agencies coordinate their efforts, so foster care students aren’t ignored.
Kent stated he’s practical, and he doesn’t believe the bill will solve every problem. But it’s a beginning. The bill passed the House universally and is up for deliberation in the Senate.
We, Kathey and Rob Raskin, have made it our life’s mission to stop DHR corruption in this country to protect our kids. If you have seen problems, report them immediately on our main page. Then, contact your local representatives here to make a greater impact.