Fostering Opportunities: Closing the High School Graduation Gap for Youth Who Experience Foster Care

Only one in four Colorado students who experience foster care during high school graduate with their class. Most interventions aimed at improving the graduation rates of foster youth are spearheaded by child welfare agencies or the judicial system with services typically ending when students exit the foster care system. Yet there is evidence to suggest that the risk for poor educational outcomes may increase after foster care ends. Fostering Opportunities is different because it is delivered by a school system and continues service until a student graduates or demonstrates sustained academic success.

Fostering Opportunities, A Pay for Success Project to Improve the Foster Care Graduation Rate

Only one in four Colorado students who experience foster care during high school graduate with their class. Jeffco Public Schools and Jefferson County Human Services developed a solution – the Fostering Opportunities program. This innovative student engagement intervention is the first proven practice in Colorado to improve educational outcomes for students in foster care.