Charles Ungerleider, Professor
Emeritus, The University of British Columbia
[permission to reproduce granted if
authorship is acknowledged]
I have been thinking about the students who are most likely to be vulnerable to the negative impact of COVID 19. Near the top of my list are students in care, children and youth receiving out-of-home care who should be in school because of the difference that school makes in their lives. Although estimates vary, there are likely 85,000 to 100,00 students in Canada who receive out-of-home care.
Placement in out-of-home care can
occur for many different reasons: physical, sexual, psychological, or emotional
abuse, neglect, deprivation, maltreatment, etc. The circumstances leading to children
being in out-of-home placements and the challenges they face while in care have
immediate and long-term consequences, including poor academic performance,
dropping out of school, poor mental health, and poor attachment to the labour
market.
Students
in care are typically less engaged in school. High rates of tardiness and
absenteeism are symptomatic of their more tenuous engagement. They are often
disorganized (do not complete in-class and homework assignments), have poor
mental health, and are involved in disciplinary incidents that often lead to suspensions
and expulsions. Students
in care are more likely than average to dropout. They have lower rates of
graduation and are less likely than average to transition to post-secondary
education because of their poor academic records.
Their negative experiences at home,
in out-of-home care, and at school have a cumulative impact. When students in care
become adults, they have more difficulty finding work, keeping jobs, and
maintaining a stable residence. It is not surprising that many former students
in care live in poverty, are homeless, and more likely to become involved in
the criminal justice system.
Education is one of the key
ingredients to ensuring the success of students in care. Several years ago, my
colleagues and I reviewed the literature devoted to school-related efforts to
support students in care. Although the literature was a bit of a hodgepodge, we
were able to identify several factors that seem to play an important part in propelling
students in care along a successful trajectory.
It will not surprise anyone that relationships
matter. As it does with everyone, stable and trusting relationships with adults
and peers, and the development of a stable social network make a big difference.
Connection to others and the benefit that social and emotional support provide
are very important.
It may be tempting to cut students
in care some slack because of their circumstances. But doing the opposite
appears to have a bigger impact. Setting high expectations and encouraging students
in care to push themselves leads to better outcomes if the environment is
physically, emotionally, and socially safe. Schools are often the safest
environments that some children and youth experience.
The reasons why they are in care
and circumstances in which students in care find themselves differ
significantly from one student to another. That means students in care require
services and supports tailored to their needs. The educational services and supports that students in care require will
not have an impact until their basic needs are met.
Schools
can make a difference but not without collaboration with agencies outside of
school. Cooperation between schools and community agencies is essential to
preventing students-in-care from falling through the cracks. Collaboration is
not easily achieved without attention to clear definitions of roles and responsibilities,
and resolving policy differences (privacy and information sharing, for example).
It
appears crucial that there be someone in the school that the student in care
attends who is designated as a case manager, an advocate and
mentor for the student. Educators designated as a case manager must be freed
from other responsibilities to carry the case management responsibilities
effectively. Another approach to case management would be to designate the
responsibility to a child and youth worker or a school-based social-work
trained professional.
The case
manager can help to ensure coordination among community agencies and services
and supports in school for the benefit of the student in care. The active
involvement of the student in care is also important. That involvement builds
capacity for self-advocacy, a trait that will help the student in care when
s/he leaves school.