Foster Youth Services

The mission of our Foster Youth Services Coordination Program (FYSCP) is to support the county's approximately 350 youth living in foster care to access their education and attain their educational goals. This support takes the form of collaboration with students and families, school and district staff, and other county agencies in order to remove barriers to educational access and expand educational opportunities.

In partnership with all of the agencies serving youth in the foster care system, the role of FYSCP is to provide resources and support to school staff and families in order to create a bridge that will help students succeed.

Contact Us

For general questions about the Sonoma County Office of Education Foster Youth Services Coordinating Program or education rights of youth in foster care, please contact:
Joanna Paun
Foster and Homeless Youth Education Services Coordinator
Sonoma County Office of Education
jpaun@scoe.org
707-524-2661

Tutor Me Education: 24/7 Face-To-Face Tutoring with Handpicked Tutors

All SCOE students can connect with expert tutors by scheduling virtual sessions through Tutor Me Education!

We are excited to share that SCOE has partnered with Tutor Me Education for all K-12th promise youth. TM-Education is a platform where students have access to expert online tutors. Unlike other platforms, TM-Education provides tailored face-to-face tutoring with a live tutor using audio and video (just like zoom, but with an interactive whiteboard!). With TM-Education, students can request assistance in any of their rostered classes or schedule on-going tailored tutoring sessions. Teachers will have access to how students use TM-Education by referring students, reviewing custom metrics, and more. If you are a K-12th promise youth student in SCOE, check out Tutor Me Education today!

To schedule a session: Simply complete the forms below.

Once teachers or parents complete the following sign-up form, one of our educational directors will contact them to understand their needs in more detail, provide a pre-assessment (if needed), and match the student with a tutor.

SIGN UP

State Increases Financial Aid Available to Foster Youth Attending CSUs, UCs, and CCCs for 2023-24

The 2023/2024 budget bill included increased funding for financial aid for foster youth across all three public postsecondary systems. Language governing this funding was included in SB 117, the higher education budget trailer bill. Here is a breakdown of the changes adopted as part of SB 117.

For both programs, current and former foster youth are defined as those whose dependency was established or continued on or after the age of 13. The funding goes into effect starting in the 2023-24 academic school year. The exact timing of funding disbursement is not yet known, but it is anticipated that awards will be made by the end of the fall term.

Foster Youth Data

Foster youth data on enrollment, test performance, and more is available at the California Department of Education's Dataquest website.

Family Urgent Response System (FURS)

The California Department of Social Services recently released All County Letter (ACL) 23-01 which provides information about recent expansions to the eligibility criteria for receiving services from the Family Urgent Response System (FURS), a free all hours access hotline for current or former foster youth and their caregivers to call and get immediate help for any big or small issues. The expanded definition includes children and youth being cared for in a Voluntary Placement Agreement.

Senate Bill (SB) 1090 (Chapter 833, Statutes of 2022), effective January 1, 2023, expands the definition of “current or former foster child or youth” for the purposes of accessing FURS to include: a child or youth who is the subject of a Voluntary Placement Agreement as defined in subdivision (p) of Section 11400, a child or youth who is placed in foster care and is the subject of a petition filed pursuant to Section 300, and a child or youth placed in California pursuant to the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children. These youth remain eligible to receive services through FURS until age 21 even if they have exited foster care for any reason, including, but not limited to, reunification, guardianship, adoption, emancipation or transferring to tribal jurisdiction.

FURS is a coordinated statewide, regional, and county-level system designed to provide collaborative and timely state-level phone-based response and county-level in-home, in-person mobile response during situations of instability, to preserve the relationship of the caregiver and the child or youth.

FURS services, available by calling (833) 939-3877, include:

• A toll-free hotline available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week staffed with caring counselors trained in conflict resolution and de-escalation techniques for children and youth impacted by trauma.
• County Mobile Response and Stabilization Teams also available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• In-home de-escalation, stabilization, conflict resolution, and support services and resources.
• Ongoing support services beyond the initial mobile response.
• Hotline and mobile response staff trained in working with children and families who have experienced trauma.

Contact the Permanency Services and Support Unit for questions or comments at (916) 657-1858 or at FURS@dss.ca.gov.

Program Goals

By removing barriers that occur due to frequent changes in home placement, this program helps ensure that foster youth can benefit from uninterrupted educational access. Specific goals are to:

• Reach out to foster youth and their families and provide education-related support, such as helping them make contact with school districts and access educational resources.
• Coordinate, support, and expand foster youth tutoring programs.
• Strengthen relationships with partner agencies serving foster youth, including county departments, VOICES Sonoma, and Santa Rosa Junior College.
• Implement the Foster Focus software, which allows for the transfer of student information to expedite school enrollment.

School District Liaisons

District Foster Youth Education Liaisons support foster youth in their districts by:

• Facilitating immediate enrollment in school
• Ensuring the timely transfer of education records when a foster youth changes school placements
• Supporting academic achievement
• Encouraging school attendance and reducing truancy and drop-out rates
• Reducing incidents of student discipline problems and juvenile delinquency
• Communicating with foster youth and appropriate supporting individuals such as foster parents, education rights holders, social workers, and CASA in order to provide coordinated support to foster youth.
• Ensuring that foster youth receive the appropriate safeguards under: AB 490 (School Stability and Timely Transfer of Records) and AB 167 (High School Graduation Requirements)

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District	Liaison	Phone	Email
Alexander Valley Union	Matt Reno, Superintendent	707-433-1375	mreno@alexandervalleyusd.org
Bellevue Union	Tracy Whitaker, Director Student Svcs	707-542-5197 x3	twhitaker@busd.org
Bennett Valley Union	Lexie Cala, Superintendent	707-542-2201 x112	lexie.cala@bvusd.org
Cinnabar	Ken Silman Superintendent/Principal	707-765-4345	ksilman@cinnabar.org
Cloverdale Unified	Nicole Leveille Director Student Svcs and Special Ed	707-894-1994	leveillen@cusd.org
Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified	Matt Marshall, Director of Student Services	(707) 792-4540	Matthew_Marshall@crpusd.org
Dunham	Ani Larson, Superintendent/Principal	707-795-5050	alarson@dunhamsd.k12.ca.us
Forestville Union	Matthew Dunkle, Superintendent/Principal	707-887-2279	mdunkle@forestvilleusd.org
Fort Ross	Jennifer Dudley, Superintendent	707-847-3390	jdudley@fortrossschool.org
Geyserville Unified	Deborah Bertolucci, Superintendent	707-857-3592	dbert@gusd.com
Gravenstein Union	Keri Pugno, Superintendent	707-823-7008	kpugno@gusdschools.org
Guerneville	Joelene Morasch, Superintendent	707-869-2864 x116	jmoraschguernevilleschool.org
Harmony Union	Matthew Morgan, Superintendent/Principal	707-874-1205 x11	mmorgan@harmonyusd.org
Healdsburg	Kevin Bean, Director Student Svcs	707-431-3480	kbean@husd.org
Heartwood Charter School	Heather Deyden-Littrell Assistantt Dir of Operations	707-981-6307	heather@heartwoodcharterschool.org
Horicon	Jeff McFarland, Superintendent/Principal	707-886-5322	jmcfarland@horiconsd.org
Kashia	Frances Johnson, Superintendent/Principal	707-785-9682	fjohnson@kashiaesd.org
Kenwood	Nathan Myers, Superintendent	707-833-2500	nmyers@kenwoodschool.org
Liberty	Chris Rafanelli, Superintendent	707-795-4380	crafanelli@libertysd.org
Mark West Union	Lisa Warne, Asst. Supe Ed. Svcs	707-524-2799	lwarne@mwusd.org
Monte Rio Union	Edward Navarro, Superintendent/Principal	707-865-2266	enavarro@monteriousd.org
Montgomery	Laurie Mason, Superintendent/Principal	707-632-5221	lmason@mescaz.org
Oak Grove Union	Amber Stringfellow, Superintendent	707-545-0171	astringfellow@ogusd.org
Old Adobe Union	Cindy Kerr Friberg, Director Student Svcs	707-765-4319	cfriberg@oldadobe.org
Petaluma City	Esmeralda Sanchez Moseley, Asst. Superintendent of Student Services	707-778-4960	esmoseley@petk12.org
Piner-Olivet Union	Tami Pallingston, Director, Student Services	707-522-3006	tpallingston@pousd.org
Pivot Charter School	Ana Martinez, Community Liaison	951-284-6214	amartinez@pivotcharter.org
Rincon Valley Union	Lori O'Connor, Director of Student Services	707-542-7375	loconnor@rvusd.org
Roseland	FYS - Moisés Fernández MCKV - Haley Piazza	707-546-7089 ext. 5607	mfernandez@roselandsd.org hpiazza@roselandsd.org
Santa Rosa City	Stacy Desideri, Executive Director of Wellness & Engagement	707-890-3800	sdesideri@srcs.k12.ca.us
Sebastopol Union	Sara Gramm, Superintendent	707-829-4570	sgramm@sebusd.org
Sonoma Valley Unified	Jillian Beall, Director, Education Services	707-935-6000	jbeall@sonomaschools.org
Twin Hills Union	Anna-Maria Guzman Superintendent	707-823-0871	aguzman@twinhillsusd.org
Two Rock Union	Stephen Owens, Superintendent	707-762-6617	sowens@trusd.org
Waugh	Michael Gardner, Superintendent	707-765-3331	mgardner@waughsd.org
West Side Union	Rima Meechan, Administration	707-433-3923 x12	rmeechan@westsideusd.org
West Sonoma County Union High	Laura Schmitt, Director, Special Education	707-824-6405	lschmitt@wscuhsd.org
Wilmar Union	Stephen Hospodar, Superintendent/Principal	707-765-4340	shospodar@wilmarusd.org
Windsor Unified	Brian Williams, Asst. Superintendent, Ed Services	707-608-6392	bwilliams@wusd.org
Wright	Lyndsey Munn, ELOP & Ed Services Coordinator	707-542-0550	lmunn@wrightesd.org