School Issues for Foster & Kinship Children
Schools can unintentionally be a minefield for foster and kinship children, as well as for foster parents and kinship caregivers. Some of the common school issues that foster families face can include:
- The language used to talk about foster care, birth families, and even adoption
- What to share, with whom to share it, and when to talk with school personnel about your foster child’s history
- Traditional assignments such as family trees and baby picture projects
- Learning issues causes by interrupted education, history of neglect or deprivation or prenatal exposure
- Incomplete grade-level progress caused by multiple placements or changes in districts/buildings
- Ethnicity and racial issues
Of course, there can be much more to the struggle than the things listed here. Preparing for the challenges a foster or kinship child might face is helpful.
In addition to the annual Back to School resource campaign we offer each summer, Creating a Family has many resources on school issues for foster children. A few of our more recent ones that we think you will find particularly helpful are:
- Do You Feel Like School is Not Working for Your Child? (article)
- It Is Time to Uproot the Old Family Tree Assignment! (guest article)
- Practical Tips To Help Parents and Caregivers Navigate Special Education Services (article)
- Raising a Child with ADHD to a Successful & Healthy Adulthood (1 hr. podcast w/ expert)
- Navigating Special Education and the IEP/504 Process (1 hr. podcast w/ experts)
- Helping Autistic Kids Shine (1 hr. podcast w/ expert)
*While many of the school issues encountered by foster & kinship families are quite similar to those that adoptive families face, there are some unique differences. You can find additional resources for School Issues for Adopted Children at this link.
Scroll to the very bottom to see other resources that Creating A Family offers to educate and support foster parents for school issues for foster children, in the form of blogs, radio shows/podcasts, tip sheets, fact sheets, and expert Q & A’s.