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ANNAPOLIS TO CONSIDER K-12 SCHOLARSHIPS FOR FOSTER CHILDREN

Legislation follows Maryland Public Policy Institute Proposal

Published on February 13th, 2007
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Delegate Nancy Stocksdale (R-Carroll County) recently filed legislation in the Maryland General Assembly to provide K–12 tuition scholarships to children in foster care.    The legislation follows a policy proposal formulated in 2005 by Maryland Public Policy Institute (MPPI) senior fellow Dan Lips. Lips’ proposal led to MPPI’s receiving the Innovation Grant Award from the Milton & Rose D. Friedman Foundation, the education philosophy organization, in 2006. That same year, Arizona adopted Lips’ proposal.

“It’s important for policymakers to look for ways to put foster children on track for a quality life and independence in adulthood.  A tuition scholarship could offer many foster children the key to a quality and stable educational experience,” said senior fellow Dan Lips. 

“Foster care children are one of the most at-risk and underrepresented segments of Maryland’s youth,” said Christopher B. Summers, Maryland Public Policy Institute president. “Their lives are full of enough challenges and difficulties, education should not be one of them.”

In 2005 and 2006, the Maryland Public Policy Institute published reports for the need to provide better educational options to children in foster care: In “School Choice for Maryland Foster Care Children: Fostering Stability, Satisfaction, and Achievement”(2005), Lips provides an overview of the many challenges facing foster children in the classroom.

Research shows that children in foster care lag behind their peers in academic measures and are more likely to be truant or drop-out before graduation. The report recommends providing tuition scholarships for children in foster care to improve educational stability and academic opportunities.

In the Focus Group Study “Foster Care Families, Children, and Education” (2006) prepared by the Baltimore Research, former foster children and current foster parents assert the need to provide better educational options for children in foster care. We will continue to provide research that informs the community and Maryland legislators about the need to improve educational opportunities for children in foster care,” said Summers. “It’s great that lawmakers in Annapolis are starting to take notice.”