Category: Education

Employment and Education Outcomes of Foster Care Youth

Of 19 year old respondents currently or formally in foster care:

  • One-third (34%) reported being employed either full-time (24%) or part-time (12%);
  • Forty-four percent reported receiving at least one form of financial assistance (other than public assistance) including Social Security (14%), educational aid (24%), or some other form of financial support (15%);
  • 70% were attending school compared to 47% of youth who were no longer in care at age 19 (Note: completing secondary or post-secondary education is one of the reasons youth are able to remain in foster care after age 18).

Source: 2013 Issue Brief National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD)

The US Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau requires states to conduct annual surveys of foster youth receiving independent living services through the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. This report is a summary of national level data on the outcomes of 19 year olds who responded to the survey from Oct 2012 to Sept 2013.

Free and Reduced Lunch in High Schools

The number of students in JCPS comprehensive high schools receiving Free or Reduced Lunch increased every school year from 2005-2006 (43.7%) to 2012-2013 (54.0%).

  • Of the 26,575 high school students enrolled in JCPS comprehensive high schools 2012-12, 16,742 qualify for Free and Reduced Lunches.
  • The District total for these high schools was 43.7% (2005-06), 44.6% (2006-07), 46.4% (2007-08), 47.0% (2008-09), 50.9% (2009-10), 52.2% (2010-11), 52.9% (2011-12), 54% (2012-13).
  • Only one high school (Atherton) experienced a decrease (-9.9%) in the percentage of students qualifying.
  • The highest percent increase was at Seneca (28% increase from 05-06 to 12-13).
  • The comprehensive schools with the highest percentage of qualifying students in 2012-12 were Central (83.1%), Iroquois (87.0%), The Academy @ Shawnee (81.1%), Western (80.5%), and Valley Traditional (77.4%).

These data do not include all public high schools in this district or non-public schools.

Source: Jefferson County Public Schools Data Book

High School Non-Completers by Race/Ethnicity

Percentage of 16 to 24 years who have not completed high school and are not in school varies by race/ethnicity. People of color are more than two times as likely to be a “non-completer”.

high school non-completers by race 1980 to 2010

The data also show the percentage of white 16 to 24 year olds who are non-completers has decreased since 1980 while the percentage of people of color 16 to 24 who are non-completers has increased in the same time period.

Source: Open Places Initiative: Equity Indicators for the Louisville Region; USC Program for environmental and regional equity, 2013

16 to 24 year olds Not Working or In School

An estimated 19,168 youth and young adults are not in school and not working in the Louisville Region.

Disconnected youth by race, 1980 - 2010

While this number is lower than in 1980, the total number of “disconnected” youth have been rising and becoming more diverse since 1990.

Source: Open Places Initiative: Equity Indicators for the Louisville Region; USC Program for environmental and regional equity, 2013

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