Why Foster Care Students In Seattle Are Beating The Odds
The NPR series, "Take A Number," is exploring problems around the world â and the people who are trying to solve them â each through the lens of a single number.
Thirty-six percent.
That was the high school graduation rate for youth in foster care in Seattle and King County, Washington, in 2010.
"We were shocked. I mean, tears flowed," says Janis Avery. For more than two decades, she has led a nonprofit called Treehouse, dedicated to improving the lives of foster youth. In fact, Treehouse had been pushing for the state to break out educational data about kids in foster care. And the data, when it came for the first time, was a wake-up call.
"We thought we were doing a good job," Avery recalls. "We realized it wasn't making a difference at a population level."
Foster youth struggle in school for many reasons. Being removed from your family children in foster care have mental health needs; many struggle with addiction and brushes with the law.
