Supporting Youth Education

Navigating the transition from foster care can be difficult for children and families. Fostering Educational Success is a home- and school-based program that provides additional support to youth and their caregivers during this time. The primary goal of Fostering Educational Success is to improve middle and high school students’ educational experiences and help them create successful outcomes after leaving foster care.

Fostering Educational Success is an educational program that seeks to strengthen students’ support systems and aid in family stability by:

• Enhancing communication
• Facilitating school success
• Improving homework completion
• Preventing drop out

Each student will have a dedicated Family Coach who will work directly with them, their caregivers, and their school to serve as an academic resource, advocate, and liaison to ensure their success. Family Coaches provide support in three areas:

• School connectedness
• Academic engagement
• Family functioning

Fostering Educational Success Program Goals

1. Improve student educational outcomes and experiences.
2. Keep students connected and engaged with their education.
3. Promote family functioning and engage families and caregivers in students’ schooling.
4. Work with community agencies and schools to support positive student outcomes.

Program Eligibility 

Know a family who may benefit from these services? Participants must meet the following criteria:

1. English-speaking
2. Live within 60 miles of Lincoln or Omaha
3. Youth is enrolled in 6th through 12th grade
4. Youth is currently or has historically been placed in foster care
5. At least one of the identified youth’s caregivers is committed to the youth’s graduation and is willing to participate in the Fostering Educational Success program
6. Permanency via guardianship, independent living, or adoption is the primary permanency objective occurring within the most recent 3 months OR reunification is likely to occur in the next 30 days

The Fostering Educational Success (FES) Program brochure describes our program and our partners, while our Caregiver Flyer provides information that youth caregivers will want to know before enrolling in our program. 

Refer a Student for Fostering Educational Success

Please complete the form below to make a referral to Fostering Educational Success.

Questions? Contact Cassandra Dittmer at cdittmer@kvc.org.

Program Partners

This program is part of a five-year collaboration between KVC Nebraska, University of Nebraska’s Academy for Child and Family Well Being (University of Nebraska-Lincoln), and the University of Nebraska Medical Center and was awarded a grant from the United States Department of Education.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Academy for Child and Family Well Being

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Academy for Child and Family Well Being (ACFW) partners with the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders to improve the lives of youth with emotional and behavioral challenges through the research, development and support of evidence-based programs, family support interventions and out-of-home services for youth. ACFW also implements research into real-world practices to help youth and families in Nebraska and throughout the nation.

University of Nebraska Medical Center

The University of Nebraska Medical Center is the professional and scientific home of brilliant researchers who work at the forefront of fields like transplant medicine, cancer, neurodevelopment and genomics. With collaboration from a highly engaged community of skilled professionals and access to world-class facilities, UNMC researchers identify and focus on critical questions that lead to new knowledge and life-changing therapies.