Black foster youth in Los Angeles County face steep obstacles in school that hinder their chance of success in college and beyond, according to a study by the Black Male Institute at UCLA.
About 3,700 Black students in foster care are enrolled in K-12 schools in Los Angeles County, representing one-third of all Black foster youth statewide. According to the study, they’re far more likely than their peers to be chronically absent from school, suspended or expelled, placed in special education, and drop out of school. None enrolled in the University of California in 2018-19, the year for which researchers collected data, and only 6% enrolled in a California State University campus.
“This data shines an important light on their experiences and makes clear that Black foster youth in public schools in Los Angeles County are being disenfranchised in their educational experiences,” said Brianna Harvey, an author of the report and a Ph.D. student at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies.
