Resources

• Special Education and Foster Care
  The Spring 2002 issue of the Children's Legal Bulletin looks at the educational rights of children in foster care with disabilities in New Jersey. It is posted on the Kidlaw website from the Association for Children of New Jersey's Children's Legal Resource Center.

• Foster Children and the IDEA: The Fox Guarding the Henhouse
  This article from Florida Coastal School of Law examines the challenges that face foster children in education generally, and more specifically the challenges faced by children in foster care who have disabilities that affect them educationally.

• Youth in Foster Care with Disabilities
  Two publications from Portland State University Regional Research Institute address issues concerning young people with disabilities who are in foster care:
  • Are We Ignoring Foster Youth with Disabilities? discusses educational issues for youth in foster care who have disabilities, and makes recommendations for action.
  • Transition Planning for Foster Youth with Disabilities: Are We Falling Short? focuses on issues of, and recommendations regarding, transition planning.

• Youth with Disabilities Aging Out of Foster Care: Issues and Support Strategies
  This article from Impact addresses the unique needs of foster youth with disabilities and best practices in the transition planning process.

• Forgotten Children: A Case for Action for Children with Disabilities
  Children's Rights and United Cerebral Palsy conducted a comprehensive review of the literature, and issues this report, which indicates that at least one-third of the children and youth in American foster care systems today may have disabilities.The report also identifies several promising approaches for states.

• Youth with Disabilities in the Foster Care System: Barriers to Success and Proposed Policy Solutions
  This report from the National Council on Disability examines older youth with disabilities who are involved in the foster care system. Foster care is both a child welfare issue and a disability issue, with high numbers of foster youth with mental, developmental, emotional, learning, and physical disabilities. The purpose of this report is to shift the lens through which youth advocates and service providers view the importance of ensuring the well-being of foster youth. This new lens asserts the importance of understanding the prevalence of disability among foster youth and better ascertaining who should be held accountable for this uniquely challenged and often underserved population.

• Dependent Youth Aging out of Foster Care: A Guide for Judges
  This report, available in both national and Pennsylvania editions, contains a short section on questions judges should ask at permanency hearings regarding youth with disabilities. The publication serves as an aid to the court in planning for youth making the transition to adulthood.

  
  

• How can Juvenile Courts Better Address the Needs of Child Maltreatment Victims with Disabilities who are in Foster Care?
  Prepared by Howard Davison, Director of ABA Center on Children and the Law, for a presentation at the 10th National Conference on Addressing the Abuse of Children and Adults with Disabilities (March 2005)

  
  

Websites

• National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
  NICHCY is a national information and referral center providing information on disabilities and disability-related issues for families, educators, and other professionals. The Center's special focus is children and youth (birth to age 22). Services include personal responses to questions, publications, referrals, database and library searches, and materials in Spanish.

• Child Abuse and Children with Disabilities
  The New York State Office of Children and Family Services has developed a website for child welfare staff and others who work with children with disabilities who have been maltreated. The focus of the website is the Interviewing Strategies section, which incorporates general information, reference articles, points to consider, and video and audio clips to help professionals who interview children with different types of disabilities. Information on associated medical concerns and a listing of common jargon used in the field are also available.

• Caring Communities for Children in Foster Care
  This project is directed through the Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC) of Virginia, funded by the Maternal Child Health Bureau Integrated Services Initiative with the American Academy of Pediatrics. In collaboration with Fairfax County, VA, Child Welfare Agencies, the Caring Communities project has been developing strategies and identifying "best practices" to increase comprehensive health care services for children in foster care.