7 July 2010
Education: back on TrACK with foster care
A week on from the release of the Care-system Impacts on Academic Outcomes report we thought we would bring you a story which shows how education disengagement can be turned around with the right support.
The report found that keeping kids in Out of Home Care engaged in school and education is a major challenge. Education is key to future opportunities for children and young people when they become adults, but experiences of trauma, instability and other difficulties form significant barriers to children achieving their dreams.
In Jamie's* case though, effective interventions, encouragement and persistance by a range of professionals involved in his life have led to a turn around in his engagement in school. It's a great example of the ways that new therapeutically based programs such as Anglicare Victoria's TrACK program (Treatment and Care for Kids) are able to make a real difference in the lives of children and young people. Read Jamie's story below and be sure to let us know what you think by leaving a comment!
 Jamie* first came into foster care when he was four years old due to abuse and domestic violence in his family. He was targeted by his stepfather and eventually rejected when his step-siblings were in the family home.
Early years in foster care were plagued by instability with a number of different placements and his behaviours became very difficult to manage. He was throwing tantrums for hours on end, needing to control everyone and everything around him, lashing out in anger without real cause, fire lighting and generally being oppositional towards any adult guidance. His caseworkers decided he should move into a children's Residential Care Unit.
Then at seven years old Jamie moved in with a new foster family as part one of Anglicare Victoria's therapeutic programs.
As part of this program the foster family were given extra training, resources and support in order to re-parent Jamie to help him overcome his traumatic background.
Jamie had counselling from the Australian Childhood Foundation on a regular basis. His foster carers also had the support of psychologists and other specialists to give them advice about how to respond to his behaviours in a way which would help him learn new behaviours and recover from his trauma.
His carers were also able to work together with the school to increase his attendance and Jamie's natural parents were also offered education about his challenges and how to help him recover from the trauma of his early life.
It wasn't easy for anyone, but over time improvements could be seen in Jamie's behaviour.
Download and read the full report here where you'll also find the recommendations which include increasing the access for children to therapeutic programs, such as TrACK and other alternative education options.
*names and images have been changed to protect the privacy of children and young people.
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