ABSTRACT
Factors Affecting the Educational Trajectories and Outcomes of Youth in Foster Care: Youth in foster care are particularly likely to do poorly in school. They have higher rates of suspension, use of special education services, and dropout. They also tend to have lower educational attainment overall than their peers who are not in foster care. There are a number of potential reasons for this poor performance; most are linked to the high likelihood that these youth have experienced adversity in the forms of maltreatment and frequent moves among and between caregivers. Understanding the factors affecting the school performance and adjustment of youth in foster care can help in the efforts to protect these youth from poor outcomes over time. This chapter presents a longitudinal model of the factors affecting the educational trajectories of youth in foster care. Additionally, several approaches to promoting better educational outcomes across different developmental stages are explored.
