September 14, 2005
State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Announces
$7.5 Million in Grants for Foster Youth Services
SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today awarded 55 licensed children's institutions more than $7.5 million in grants from the Foster Youth Services Countywide District Programs. The list of grantees is attached.
These grants provide academic and social support services to foster youth aged four to 21 living in licensed children's institutions or group homes in California.
"Foster children often are physically and emotionally traumatized by personal events that cause them to fall through the cracks of our education system," said O'Connell. "“These grants are designed to give them the help they need to perform at grade level, and ultimately graduate, get a good job, or fulfill the dream of going to college."
In 1981, the state Legislature determined while many of these traumatized children are placed in foster care to protect them from volatile family circumstances, the foster care system often lacks the security and stability they need to succeed in school. They face many barriers, such as multiple transfers between schools, loss of school and health records, difficulty adjusting, and loss of contact with other people who care about them. The Legislature determined this often has a detrimental impact on the students' academic achievement and future success. As a result, the Legislature passed measures to mandate the Foster Youth Services program and related funding in 1981 under Education Code sections 42920-42925. Unfortunately, with the current budget crisis, funding may be reduced or deferred.
The California Department of Education awarded the first grants in 1998-99 that funded 35 countywide programs. By 2003-04, the program expanded to cover 50 county offices of education, serving about 12,000 foster children, representing 92 percent of the foster youth residing in group homes. Eligible applicants include county offices of education, a consortium of school districts working with the county office of education, or a consortium of counties as a single applicant.
In this round of grants, applications were limited to counties that have not applied or have not been awarded a grant before. After a rigorous review process of three new applicants, two awardees were selected, and advised they would receive the grant. Awardees that received grants in the past were not required to file paperwork again to receive additional funding this year, as part of the Superintendent's Paperwork Reduction Initiative.
All the grantees will receive 50 percent of the funds this month, and the other half in January once they fulfill the requirements and assurances outlined in their grant applications. The three remaining counties that have not applied or have not been awarded a grant before will be targeted in next year's round of funding, including the counties of Del Norte, San Benito, and Tuolumne.
The funding profile for the Foster Youth Services Countywide District Programs grant has been archived. For more information, please contact the Funding Master Plan at fmp@cde.ca.gov or 916-323-1544.
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Attachment
2005-06 Foster Youth Services List of Grantees
Grantee* |
Grant Award |
|---|---|
Alameda County Office of Education |
$414,400.00 |
Butte County Office of Education |
$53,404.00 |
Calaveras County Office of Education |
$34,644.00 |
Colusa County Office of Education |
$24,411.00 |
Contra Costa County Office of Education |
$201,781.00 |
El Dorado County Office of Education* |
$51,665.00 |
Fresno County Office of Education |
$217,131.00 |
Glenn County Office of Education |
$25,548.00 |
Humboldt County Office of Education |
$36,350.00 |
Imperial County Office of Education |
$86,945.00 |
Inyo County Office of Education |
$27,822.00 |
Kern County Office of Education |
$213,720.00 |
Kings County Office of Education |
$33,507.00 |
Lake County Office of Education |
$43,171.00 |
Lassen County Office of Education |
$37,486.00 |
Los Angeles County Office of Education |
$1,951,610.00 |
Madera County Office of Education |
$40,897.00 |
Marin County Office of Education |
$34,644.00 |
Mariposa County Office of Education |
$28,959.00 |
Mendocino County Office of Education |
$52,267.00 |
Merced County Office of Education |
$53,404.00 |
Modoc County Office of Education |
$22,137.00 |
Mono County Office of Education |
$21,568.00 |
Monterey County Office of Education |
$85,808.00 |
Napa County Office of Education |
$40,329.00 |
Orange County Office of Education |
$345,611.00 |
Placer County Office of Education* |
$72,700.00 |
Plumas County Office of Education |
$22,137.00 |
Riverside County Office of Education |
$364,940.00 |
Sacramento County Office of Education |
$397,912.00 |
San Bernardino County Office of Education |
$451,351.00 |
San Diego County Office of Education |
$534,351.00 |
San Francisco County Office of Education |
$204,055.00 |
San Joaquin County Office of Education* |
$161,953.00 |
San Luis Obispo County Office of Education |
$48,856.00 |
San Mateo County Office of Education |
$93,767.00 |
Santa Barbara County Office of Education |
$77,850.00 |
Santa Clara County Office of Education |
$182,453.00 |
Santa Cruz County Office of Education |
$46,582.00 |
Shasta County Office of Education |
$46,014.00 |
Sierra County Office of Education |
$21,568.00 |
Siskiyou County Office of Education |
$38,055.00 |
Solano County Office of Education |
$52,267.00 |
Sonoma County Office of Education |
$97,747.00 |
Stanislaus County Office of Education |
$47,719.00 |
Sutter County Office of Education |
$31,233.00 |
Tehama County Office of Education ** |
$30,096.00 |
Trinity County Office of Education ** |
$23,274.00 |
Tulare County Office of Education |
$99,452.00 |
Ventura County Office of Education |
$103,432.00 |
Yolo County Office of Education |
$61,363.00 |
Yuba County Office of Education |
$37,486.00 |
Total |
$7,527,832.00 |
* There are 55 grantees, but only 52 are listed because the Alpine County Office of Education (COE) partnered with the El Dorado COE; Nevada COE partnered with the Placer COE, and Amador COE partnered with the San Joaquin COE.
** New grantees
