Too many children in foster care are falling through the cracks educationally, and the adults who care for them are often navigating a complex system with little guidance or support.

Over the past decade, I have trained more than 1,000 foster parents, CASA volunteers, social workers, and educators through Foster Care Training Today. In every training session, the same questions came up again and again: “How do I get my foster child enrolled without delays? What are their rights under ESSA? How do I navigate an IEP meeting? What happens when the school pushes back?” I realized the answers to those questions needed to exist in one comprehensive, accessible place that caregivers and advocates could reference at any time, not just during a training session.

From Placement to Graduation and Beyond is the resource I wish had existed when I started this work. It is a practical, research-backed guide that covers everything from preschool through the transition to independent living. It is written for anyone who touches the life of a child in foster care and wants to be the advocate that a child is waiting for.

This is just the beginning. There is so much more work to do, and I am committed to continuing to build tools and resources that help close the opportunity gap for foster youth.