11.05.2020
Seattle Times: Early Signs Show How the COVID-19 Pandemic is Hurting Washington’s Foster Youth
It’s hard to say exactly how foster youth are faring through the COVID-19 pandemic, but a new report offers an early glimpse.
One major insight in the report from Treehouse, a Seattle-based organization that supports children through foster care up to age 26: The shift to distance learning was especially hard.
One in four foster students lost ground on their academics after schools shut down, according to the report. More than one-quarter of Treehouse’s students reported being “largely disengaged” from school.
Foster youth are particularly vulnerable because they’re often moving from place to place; a safe and stable home is not a guarantee. They’re also highly connected with the justice system, representing 40% percent of youth in Washington’s juvenile rehabilitation system — a trend that Treehouse leaders trace back to the disparate discipline that foster youth receive in school when their trauma and loss is misunderstood. Read More >>
