Educational Advocacy

WHAT WE DO

Advocates help students leap over obstacles.

Treehouse educational advocates are experts who work with schools, social workers, foster families and students to resolve difficult issues and remove barriers to foster kids’ school success. Advocates’ work includes

  • training caregivers, social workers and students themselves to advocate for students’ educational rights;
  • being an information and referral resource for parents and caregivers;
  • preventing school changes when students’ home placements change;
  • paving the way for seamless transitions when school changes are unavoidable; and
  • minimizing the effects of disciplinary actions that keep students out of school.

Educational Advocates offer three levels of service: direct advocacy, consultation and information/referral.

ELIGIBILITY 

Educational Advocacy operates statewide under a contract with the Washington Children's Administration. Treehouse Educational Advocacy services are available to students in Washington State who are living in out-of-home care. See complete Educational Advocacy eligibility requirements.

For Educational Advocacy referrals, DCFS social worker should email a Treehouse Educational Advocacy Referral Form to Phoebe Sade Anderson, Educational Advocacy Coordinator, or fax a referral to Treehouse at (206) 767-7773.

Educational Advocacy Workshops

All children deserve an advocate who can help them succeed in school.  Foster kids need the help of their caregivers to access resources and remove barriers to their academic success.  The Educational Advocacy Peer Training project trains foster, relative, adoptive, and birth parents to advocate for their children’s needs. 

The Family Guide to Working with Schools

Treehouse educational advocacy workshops are presented throughout Washington State. In partnership with the Office of the Education Ombudsman and TeamChild, Treehouse workshops teach caregivers and professionals working with youth in out-of-home and birth families how to identify and address the problems youth are facing in school. 
Workshop Content
We offer a series of topics that educate and empower caregivers and
professionals to identify and address the barriers to a youth’s educational success:
Basic K-12 Educational Advocacy Workshop
3 Hours
Special Topic Workshops

2 Hours
•           Special Education
•           Early Learning
•           Post-Secondary Education
•           School Involvement

Click here to find a workshop near you

To schedule a workshop or for more information contact:
Christin@treehouseforkids.org

FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact us at (206) 267-5129.
 

 

 

 

Foster Care Fact

  • Washington State pays a maximum of $300 per year for clothing. That’s less than half of what an average family of moderate means spends each year to clothe a child.