January 26, 2004
Panel on foster schools?
Rate of student graduation from nonpublic facilities low 
By Troy Anderson
Staff Writer
LA Daily News

Concerned about the education that Los Angeles County's foster children receive at nonpublic schools, the Board of Supervisors today will consider forming a special panel to help improve student achievement.

The state spends $125 million a year to educate foster children in 400 nonpublic schools, most of which cater to youngsters with disabilities or special needs. Many of the nonpublic schools are operated by nonprofit foster family agencies and group homes that contract with the county to care for foster children. Others are operated by people who obtain licenses from the state.

The schools have captured the attention of Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who is concerned that some of the schools have no qualified teachers, no standard curriculum, no computers, no benchmarks or performance measures, no extracurricular activities and no record of the number of children who graduate or attend college. 

"These schools are defrauding the children, their futures and the taxpayers who have invested large sums of money for the children's welfare," Antonovich said. "The system has turned a blind eye toward that."

The county Department of Children and Family Services and the Children's Law Center of Los Angeles will recommend today whether to create an Education Coordinating Council to provide additional oversight of the nonpublic schools.

Bruce Saltzer, executive director of the Association of Community Human Service Agencies, which represents 70 nonprofit foster care and community mental health agencies in the county, said most of the nonpublic schools provide "extremely high-quality" educations. He noted that some of the nonpublic schools the supervisors have criticized are not operated by agencies his association represents.

"Some of our agencies have been around for well over 100 years providing outstanding quality services to kids in the foster care system," Saltzer said.

Studies show 75 percent of foster children perform below their grade level, 83 percent are held back by the third grade and some can't read. A total of 35 percent of foster children are in special education programs and 46 percent to 70 percent don't complete high school, compared with 16 percent among nonfoster children.

"It's not surprising that these troubled youth today will become tomorrow's troubled adults," said Miriam Aroni Krinsky, executive director of the Children's Law Center. "As we've heard from the youth, stand-up teaching is the exception and the schools often become an exercise in glorified baby-sitting."

David Sanders, the county's new director of the Department of Children and Family Services, said contracts with the group homes that run many nonpublic schools will expire in April and the county is negotiating new standards that will require the agencies to improve children's education.

"Too many children in foster care today have marginal academic achievement," Sanders said. "We need to set higher standards."

Troy Anderson, (213) 974-8985 troy.anderson@dailynews.com