Foster & Homeless Youth Education Services

The Napa County Office of Education, Community Programs Department provides technical assistance to county districts serving students in foster care, or who are homeless or experiencing temporary housing, in order to support education success. These programs are supported by the California Department of Education (CDE) Foster Youth Services Coordinated Program (FYSCP), and McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

2020-21 Napa County School District Liaisons ‐ Foster & Homeless Youth

Christine Wedding, cwedding@napacoe.org, Foster & Homeless County Coordinator
707‐259‐5923

Erika Acosta, eacosta@napacoe.org, Title IVE ‐ Educational Liaison
707‐688-5020

Calistoga
Calistoga Unified School District
George R. Valenzuela, gvalenzuela@calistogajusd.org, Vice Principal Calistoga Elementary School
707‐942‐4398

Juvenile Court & Community Schools
Napa County Office of Education
Caroline Wilson, cwilson@napacoe.org, Director Juvenile Court and Community Schools
707‐253‐6955

Howell Mtn
Howell Mtn Elementary
Janet Tufts, jtufts@hmesd.org, Principal/ Superintendent
707‐965‐2423

Napa
Napa Valley Unified School District
Danielle Swafford, MSW, PPSC, CMI, danielle_swafford@nvusd.org, District School Social Worker
707‐492-9619

St Helena
St. Helena Unified School District
Mary Allen, mallen@sthelenaunified.org, Director of Curriculum and Instruction
707‐967‐2708

Pope Valley
Pope Valley Elementary
Ken Burkhart, kburkhart@pvk8.org, Principal/ Superintendent
707-965‐2402 x203

Stonebridge
Stonebridge Elementary
Maria Martinez, maria.m@stonebridgeschool.org, Administrator
707-252-5522

Definition of Students Living in Foster Care Placement

• Any student under the direct supervision of a county social worker or probation officer and
• Has been placed in a foster care home
• Has been placed in a group home
• Remains in their own home

Definition of Students & Families who self-report as Homeless 

• In a shelter or transitional living program
• In a motel, hotel, or weekly-rate housing
• In shared housing with more than one family due to loss of housing or economic hardship
• In an abandoned building, car, campground, or on the street
• In substandard housing (without electricity, water, or heat)
• With friends or family because they are a runaway or unaccompanied youth

Rights of Students in Foster Care or Identified as Homeless

• Immediate enrollment
• Appropriate school placement
• Timely transfer of records
• Partial credits applied as appropriate
• Release of records as appropriate
• Academic review and needed services made available
• Free / Reduced Meals
• Transportation assistance
• Fees waived
• Instructional materials provided

Foster Youth Education Rights (external website, new window)

Homeless Students Rights (external website, new window)

The following links provide resources for legislation and policy regarding California foster and homeless youth.

AB490 (external website, new window)

AB 490 FactSheet (external website, new window)

Education Law Fact Sheets (external website, new window)

CA Task Force FAQ’s Re: AB167  (external website, new window)

ESSA Support for Students in Foster Care (external website, new window)

ESSA Support for students experiencing homelessness (external website, new window)

Foster Youth

Foster Youth FAQ’s (external website, new window)
Foster Youth Education Toolkit  (external website, new window)

Homeless

Technical Assistance for Homeless Serving Schools & Agencies
https://nche.ed.gov/

Resource for Parents, Guardians and Students (Youth Ages 12-24)
http://calyouth.org/about/ (external website, new window)
http://naehcy.org/ (external website, new window)
https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/hs/cy/ (external website, new window)