This publication from Bellwether Education Partners makes the case that the education system can serve as an effective through-line for children and youth experiencing traumatic life experiences—such as a placement in foster care, or experiencing homelessness or incarceration—by using two key levers for change: continuity of people and continuity of information. The paper argues that improving the continuity of people—by, for example, identifying a single adult to serve as a child’s “chief of staff”—can help ease the burden of having to navigate complex bureaucracies that is currently placed on vulnerable children and youth, while improving the continuity of information can eliminate frustration related to missing or incomplete data and records. The report was written via direct engagement with children and youth affected by agency fragmentation, as well as with the input of agency staff members. As a result, the ideas and recommendations offered in this paper are a direct reflection of the needs, wants, and constraints of these individuals.
Source: JusticeCenter