Sutter County Superintendent of Schools

Foster Youth Services

ABOUT

The Sutter County Superintendent of Schools, Student Support and Outreach (SSO) provides support services to foster children and youth who suffer the traumatic effects of displacement from family and schools and multiple placements in foster care. To achieve this, the SSO facilitates coordination and interagency support among local educational agencies under its jurisdiction and county and community organizations and agencies that offer resources and services to foster youth. Technical assistance and training are available to district foster youth liaisons and other staff who work foster children and youth and their families.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

“…students in foster care must have access to the same academic resources, services, and extracurricular and enrichment activities that are available to all students. All educational and school placement decisions must be based on the child’s best interests and consider, among other factors, educational stability and the least restrictive educational setting necessary to achieve academic progress.” Assembly Bill 490 (Steinberg 2003)

The Intervention and Prevention Programs (IPP) offer and provide the Foster Youth Services Coordinating Program (FYSCP) to Sutter County schools to increase interagency support for foster youth. IPP offers a variety of programs to improve the academic performance of foster youth, thus increasing their chance for success in all areas of their lives.

1.) PROJECT ACADEMIC STUDENT SUCCESS (PASS)

Project Academic Student Success (PASS) is an after-school academic tutoring program available to all foster youth who attend schools within Sutter County. Tutoring is offered in all subjects, conducted in small groups or in one-on-one settings, and held on multiple school campuses for the convenience of the student and foster family.

For eligibility, the following requirements must be met:

Students enrolled in grades K-12;
Attend a school within Sutter County; and
Reside in a group home, a licensed Foster Family Agency home, or a licensed foster home placement.

To refer foster youth to our PASS program, click here.

**2.) EDUCATE ADVOCATE CREATE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE**

Leadership conferences available to foster youth assist in developing life skills and leadership qualities. These conferences allow foster youth to network and connect with other foster youth and meet professionals who support the educational needs of foster children and youth. The following are conferences that foster youth have attended:

Annual Foster Youth Education Summit
California Coalition for Youth Conference

To request more information about Educate*Advocate*Create, please contact our office at (530) 822-2968.

3.) PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

Educate*Advocate*Create is designed to provide trainings to foster youth, foster parents, school districts, agencies and community. The following is a list of trainings:

Foster Youth Trainings
Foster Parent Trainings
School Districts and Other Agencies Trainings

IMPLEMENTATION OF AB 490:

Assembly Bill 490 created new rights and duties related to the education of foster youth. Under this CA Law, schools must ensure school stability, provide timely transfer of records, protect grades and credits, and provide equal access to sports and extracurricular activities. Many of the obligations placed on local educational agencies by these laws also apply to charter schools participating in a special education local plan area. For more information on AB490, please click here.

4.) EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

SSO fosters partnerships and collaboration with our FYS Executive Council, which include many public and private agencies who service foster youth in our area. Our members include school district personnel, foster family agencies (FFAs), social services, child protective services, foster youth, and many other collaborative partners who assist in the identification, program design and monitoring of our of FYS program in Sutter County. Quarterly meetings are held.

For more information, please contact our office at (530) 822-2968.