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Questions and Answers on the DCFS Education Advocacy Program Education Advisors' Contact Information/DCFS Education Access Project Contact Information
The DCFS Educational Advocacy Program
With the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA '97), foster parents/caregivers are considered parents for special education purposes and can now represent the children in their care. For children in residential settings and the Department of Corrections (DOC) the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) will still appoint educational surrogate parents.
Children learn all of the time everywhere they are. When in foster care, children's routines and expectations should be as close as possible to those of other children's. Foster parents/caregivers spend the most time with the children in their care and see them in a variety of situations making the foster parent/caregiver the person with the most knowledge on how the child learns. With this information and by working in partnership with the child's caseworker, the foster parent/caregiver is in the best position to advocate for appropriate, quality special education services.
In order to be an effective and empowered advocate for the children in their care, foster parents/caregivers need information about the laws, how to apply the laws, parental and child rights, and how to apply those rights. In addition to information, all parents need assistance sometimes and foster parents should have access to people who can help them with educational issues.
DCFS is responsible, as much as possible, to make sure school and early intervention experiences are comparable to those experiences of children not in the DCFS system. Most of the time, the interactions between schools/early intervention service providers and foster parents/caregivers goes smoothly but sometimes they can be complicated. We are confident that by working in partnership with the child's caseworker and, if necessary, getting the assistance provides by DCFS, foster parents/caregivers can help the children in their care get quality special education and early intervention services.
The following questions and answers are provided for some detailed information on the Education Advocacy Program.
Questions and Answers on the DCFS Education Advocacy Program
What
is the DCFS Education Advocacy Program?
The purpose of the Education Advocacy Program is twofold:
Some of the resources available through the Education Advocacy Program are:
Who may use the Education Advocacy Program? The Education Advocacy Program is intended for the caregivers of children who are in the care of DCFS or have been adopted through DCFS. Caregivers include foster parents, relative caregivers, and adoptive parents.
What happened to the Surrogate Parent Program? Since January 1, 2000, foster parents/caregivers are considered parents for special education purposes and no longer need to be appointed to represent the children in their care. The educational surrogate parent program hasn't been eliminated. It still exists for children in residential settings and the Department of Corrections (DOC). The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) will still appoint educational surrogate parents for these children.
What are foster parents/caregivers expected to do? The expectations are:
How will caregivers make educational decisions? Caregivers spend more time with and know the child better than anyone else. They see the child in many situations and can share this valuable information with caseworkers and the teachers/early intervention providers. It is important that caregivers realize how important this information is and how it can be shared with the appropriate people.
Caseworkers and teachers or early intervention providers can help by working as a team with caregivers and by providing support and sharing educational information and history to help in making decisions.
To assist caregivers in managing the processes of special education and early intervention, there will be training provided by DCFS. If caregivers need help there are volunteer educational advocates to assist them.
What kind of training do caregivers receive? A 6-hour education advocacy training class is available for all new foster parents on the special education and early intervention processes, special education rights, and how to successfully advocate on behalf of their children. The 6-hour training is required for all new foster parents or relative caregivers. Adoptive parents are welcome to access this training also.
How will caregivers access the training? Training opportunities are often included in foster parent newsletters. You can also contact the college that coordinates training in your community. They are:
In the case of married couples, do both husband and wife need to attend the training? No, however it is recommended that both attend. Training sessions are planned for various days and times to accommodate scheduling needs. The foster parent who does not attend must be the one who will represent the child in educational matters.
How will people know that foster parents have been trained? Foster parents will receive a certificate and a wallet-sized identification card upon completion of educational advocacy training. Caregivers are encouraged to keep the wallet card with them to present to the school upon request.
What if caregivers have been trained and still have questions and need help? Just as caseworkers have a variety of resources available from DCFS for help on educational issues, so do caregivers. If you work with a private agency, it may have an education liaison available to help. Additionally, there are DCFS education advisors in place throughout the state. They provide technical assistance and training for education liaisons for private agencies, caseworkers, educators and foster families/caregivers. Their offices coordinate the Educational Advocacy Program. If caregivers, caseworkers, school or early intervention personnel need help, they can contact the education advisor's office in their DCFS region:
Cook County - Chicago
Cook County - Suburban
Cook North Suburban Education Advisor's Office DCFS, 4055 N. Western Ave. Chicago, IL 60018 (773) 866-5533
Communities Served: Arlington Heights, Barrington Hills, Bartlett, Bensenville, Des Plaines, Elgin, Elk Grove Village, Evanston, Glencoe, Glenview, Gold, Hanover Park, Harwood Heights, Hoffman Estates, Inverness, Kenilworth, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Norridge, North Brook, Northfield, Palatine, Park Ridge Prospect Heights, Rolling Meadows, Rosemont, Schaumburg, Skokie, South Barrington, Streamwood, Wheeling, Wilmette, Winnetka.
Cook Central Suburban Education Advisor's Office DCFS, 4909 W. Division Chicago, IL 60651 (773) 854-0606
Communities Served: Bedford Park, Bellwood, Berkley, Berwyn, Bridgeview, Broadview, Brookfield, Burbank, Cicero, Countryside, Elmwood Park, Forest Park, Franklin Park, Hillside, Hodgkins, Indian Head Park, Justice, LaGrange Park, Lyons, Maywood, McCook, Melrose Park, North Riverside, Northlake, Oak Park, River Forest, River Grove, Riverside, Schiller Park, Stickney, Summit, Westchester, Western Springs.
Cook South Suburban Education Advisor's Office DCFS, 7600 W. 183rd St. Tinley Park, IL 60477 (773) 854-2208
Communities Served: Blue Island, Burnham, Calumet City, Calumet Park, Chicago Heights, Chicago Ridge, Country Club Hills, Crestwood, Markham, Dixmoor, Dolton, East Hazel Crest, Evergreen Park, Flossmoor, Ford Heights, Glenwood, Harvey, Hazel Crest, Hickory Hills, Hometown, Homewood, Lansing, Lemont, Lynwood, Markham, Matteson, Merrionette Park, Midlothian, Oak Forest, Oak Lawn, Olympia Fields, Orland Park, Palos Heights, Palos Park, Park Forest, Phoenix, Posen, Richton Park, Riverdale, Robbins, Sauk Village, South Chicago Heights, South Holland, Thornton, Tinley Park, Willow Springs, Worth.
Northern Region
Northern Region Education Advisor's Office DCFS, 107 N. Third Street Rockford, IL 61107 (815) 967-3750
Counties Served: Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, JoDaviess, Kane, Kendall, Kankakee, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Will, Whiteside, Winnebago.
Lake County Education Advisor's Office DCFS, 500 N. Green Bay Rd. Waukegan, IL 60085 (847) 249-7840
Central Region
North Central Education Advisor's Office ISBE/DCFS 102 W. Springfield P.O. Box 321 Champaign, IL 61824 (217) 355-5990
Counties Served: Bureau, Champaign, Ford, Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Iroquois, Knox, LaSalle, Livingston, Marshall, McDonough, McLean, Mercer, Peoria, Putnam, Rock Island, Schuyler, Stark, Tazewell, Vermillion, Warren, Woodford.
South Central Education Advisor's Office DCFS, 521 S. Eleventh St. Springfield, IL 62703 (217) 557-0075
Counties Served: Adams, Brown, Cass, Mason, Menard, Logan, DeWitt, Platt, Douglas, Edgar, Pike, Scott, Morgan, Sangamon, Macon, Moultrie, Christian, Shelby, Coles, Calhoun, Green, Jersey, Macoupin, Montgomery, Cumberland, Clark
Southern Region
Southern Illinois Education Advisor's Office DCFS, 5601 State St. E. St. Louis, IL 62203 (618) 398-5910
Counties Served: Bond, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Jasper, Jefferson, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Monroe, Richland, St. Clair, Wabash, Washington, Wayne
Marion Sub-region Education Advisors Office DCFS, 1210 Hanson St. Murphysboro, IL 62966 (618) 687-1733
Counties Served: Alexander, Franklin, Galatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Johnson, Massac, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Saline, Union, White, Williamson
Statewide Office
Statewide Coordinator Angela Baron-Jeffrey Northern Illinois University - TEDU Graham Hall Room 242 DeKalb, IL 60115 (815) 753-8528
In addition to the education advisors, volunteer education advocates are available and may be assigned to help foster parents/caregivers on an ongoing basis if needed.
If a caregiver has not yet been trained or has been trained and needs additional help, what can be done? Caregivers are encouraged to attend training as soon as possible. Caseworkers and teachers/early intervention providers should encourage and assist them to attend training. Until they are trained, contact the education advisor in your region for the assignment of an education advocate.
Caregivers who have been trained and need assistance may contact the education advisor in their region to be assigned an education advocate.
Who are the volunteer education advocates? Education advocates are volunteers who have been trained in special education and early intervention services and have effectively worked with schools and early intervention service providers. Previously, they may have been an educational surrogate parent. Often times, they are other foster parents. As DCFS volunteers, they will have had background checks.
Education advocates are coordinated in the individual regions by the education advisor's offices. If you know of someone who is interested in volunteering to be an education advocate, have him/her contact the education advisor's office in his or her region or fill out the attached form.
What kind of help can caregivers expect from an education advocate? An education advocate can help in a variety of ways and it depends on what the caregiver wants and needs. They can be a support by telephone contact, attend school meetings, and help talk to the school regarding the child's needs or other activities agreed upon.
Do education advocates get paid? No, they are volunteers. However, they are reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred while assisting a caregiver. Education advocates should contact the appropriate Education Advisor's office for reimbursement details.
How are volunteer education advocates assigned? Anyone can request an education advocate to be assigned for a caregiver. Call the education advisor's office in your region. Once the request is made, the education advisor's office makes a match based on the individual needs of the caregiver and the expertise and availability of the advocate. *See the above list of education advisors for contact information
What about confidentiality? Can caregivers take anyone they want to an IEP/IFSP meeting like other parents do? Caregivers must always follow the guidelines on confidentiality. They may take appropriate people, like an education, to an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) meeting for support/assistance just like any parent who is not associated with DCFS. If there is a plan for the child returning home, the caregiver and caseworker may also bring the biological parent, or in the case of a potential adoption, the adoptive parent.
What responsibilities does a foster child's caseworker have in educational decisions? Each child's caseworker has certain casework responsibilities, like visiting the school/early intervention provider four times a year and having monthly contact with the child's teachers or early intervention provider. Educational Procedures Rule 314 guide them as to their responsibilities. There is an expectation that caseworkers and foster parents/caregivers work as a team in making educational decisions.
What happens if the education advocate isn't successful and a caregiver needs further help? In addition to the child's caseworker, there are a variety of resources available to help. Unless the child is in imminent educational/developmental harm, it is suggested they can be contacted in the following order:
For caregivers who work during the school day, how can they attend all of these school meetings? The participation of the caregiver is very important. According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), school districts and early intervention programs must schedule IEP and IFSP meetings and eligibility conferences at a mutually agreed upon time, date and place. The meetings do not have to take place only during school hours or at school. Sometimes, parents participate by speakerphone. A meeting may be held without a caregiver if the school district has a record of attempts made to mutually arrange a time and place, but a caregiver has been unable to attend.
What if a caregiver feels they have made a wrong decision? Usually there won't be wrong decisions made but rather uninformed decisions made. If a caregiver is unsure about a decision or is afraid they have made a wrong decision, they should contact the caseworker, education liaison and/or education advisor for assurance or assistance. There is usually no decision that can't be reversed when you have the appropriate information.
What happens if there are circumstances that make it difficult for the caregiver to represent the child in school matters? Occasionally, there will be circumstances that make it hard for the caregiver to participate in school meetings. Often times the reasons can be readily resolved. Examples might be:
What happens if the foster parent/caregiver refuses to represent the child in school matters, or consistently fails to represent a child's best interest in school? It is a foster parent's responsibility to advocate for the educational needs of children in their care. It is uncommon that a foster parent would refuse to represent their child, or fail to represent their best interests in school. In this situation, the caseworker should first talk to the child's foster parent/caregiver and identify why he/she doesn't want to represent the child and attempt to resolve the situation.
In those rare cases when the foster parent/caregiver refuses to represent the child or fails to do so, a caseworker should consult their supervisor. If it is not solved, consult with the education advisor in the region to assign an education advocate until such time that the issue is resolved through the casework process or the DCFS guardian's office. DCFS is responsible, as much as possible, to make sure children are represented in obtaining school and early intervention services.
The caseworker and volunteer education advocate will support the child at all official and informal meetings regarding the youngster's education until the issue is resolved. School districts have the option of requesting a due process hearing to compel participation, just as they could for non-participating parents not served by DCFS. Very rarely, however, would school districts or early intervention providers request due process for a parent's failure to represent their child.
If the resolution is the guardian's office determining that the foster parent/caregiver is unable to represent the child, the education advisor's office will request the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to assign the current education advocate as an official educational surrogate parent. The educational surrogate parent will then represent the child in educational or early intervention matters. The child's caseworker should work with the educational surrogate parent as part of the child's educational team in making decisions.
This assignment of an educational surrogate parent for a child in foster care would be an extremely rare occurrence. It is reserved for the limited situations where all other resources have been exhausted in supporting the foster parent/caregiver and the determination is made by the guardian's office that it is in the child's best interest to remain in the current placement with someone other than the foster parent/caregiver making educational or early intervention decisions.
To what extent should a child's biological parents be involved in school meetings? A child's biological parents should generally be involved in the planning process for any child who is in placement with a goal of "returning home". However, the Department maintains legal responsibility for the child as his/her guardian and only the foster parent has signature and decision-making authority regarding the child's special education planning and programming.
If I have other questions regarding the Education Advocacy Program, whom do I ask? Contact the appropriate Education Advisor's office in the region or the private agency's Education Liaison. |