School Stability and Transportation Coordination for

Children in Out of Home Placement

Philadelphia Department of Human Services and School

District of Philadelphia

Liza M. Rodriguez, Ph.D., ConsultantResearch, Education, and Social Innovations

Bridging Vision, Strategies, and Practice

School Stability and Transportation Coordination

1. Background for School Stability & Transportation Coordination in Philadelphia

2. Framework: Child Welfare and School District Collaboration

• Mayor’s Cross-Systems Leadership Initiative• Data Sharing Memorandum of Understanding• School Stability and Transportation

Coordination Protocol• Preliminary Year 1 data

3. Lessons Learned

Presentation Outline

Background: School Stability and Transportation Coordination in

Philadelphia

• Child welfare and school district collaboration in Philadelphia– Mayor Michael Nutter’s alignment of City services with

school district– Mayoral convening of key city departments and School

District of Philadelphia – Cross-systems work group– Data-sharing Memorandum of Understanding between

child welfare and school district– School Stability Transportation Protocol for Children in

Out of Home Placement

Framework: Child Welfare and School District Collaboration

Framework: Child Welfare & School District Collaboration

MOU = Information Sharing

• Name, Address• Demographic information• All schools attended• Attendance• Disciplinary/behavioral

record• Grades for all subjects• High school credits• Special education status

and records (IEP)• Standardized test scores

• Name, Date of Birth, Case Number

• Name and contact information for DHS worker, supervisor, administrator

• Provider agency and contact information

• Placement zip code, date and discharge date

• Type of placement • Final status of investigation if

School is reporter• Court dates• Status of parents’ education

rights

School District

Child welfare

Framework: Child Welfare & School District Collaboration

Transportation Coordination Protocol

Child is placed 1st time or changes

placement

Remains in current school

Cannot remain in school due to

safety or other critical factors listed in Policy

Busing/transpass requested through

counselor if outside of 1.5

mile radius

Attendance and progress

monitored

Immediately enrolled in new school

Provider obtains transfer packet

from original school

SCHOOL

STABILITY

DHS Education Support Center & District assistance

Attendance and

progress monitored

TRACK 1

TRACK 2

Child Welfare and School District CollaborationPreliminary Year 1 Data

• DHS tracks data on individual consultations to identify common barriers, length of time in resolving barriers, and barrier resolutions

• More than 1024 individual consultations by DHS Education Liaisons as of May 2011

• Of the 1024 consultations, 916 unduplicated youth have been served.

• Top three identified educational barriers in consultations:

• School Stability (31%)• Unexcused Absences (22%)• Transportation (12%)

Child Welfare and School District Collaboration

Preliminary Year 1 Data

Resolutions97% of Education Barriers addressed by the

Education Support Center are resolved.

• Appropriate Education Setting Identified 22%• Stayed in School of Origin 14%• Transportation Provided 9%• Resource Information Provided, 11%• Other (foster home changed, home environment

issues addressed, etc.) 13%

Child Welfare & School District Transportation Coordination

Lessons Learned

• School stability ensured for approximately 200 children in first year of full implementation

• Both child welfare and schools welcomed a single point of contact to resolve school stability issues for children in placement.

• Communication and cross-training between systems is critical – on a regular basis

• Both systems understood how to take unresolved system barriers “up the chain of command”

Child Welfare & School District School Stability Collaboration

Lessons Learned

• Systems continue to make internal reforms and changes - Collaboration structure needs to adapt to change to sustain itself over time

Questions, Comments

Contact Information

Liza M. Rodriguez, Ph.D.

Consultant

Research, Education, and Social InnovationsBridging Vision, Strategies, and Practice

Liza.margarita@gmail.com

215-990-2049