Availability of Foster Care Webpages, Protocols/Procedures, Contact Information, and Training: A Content Analysis of State Educational Agency Websites

There is an educational achievement gap for students in foster care (SFC). The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides educational protections aimed at improving school stability and outcomes for SFC. This brief presents a summative content analysis of the availability of foster care webpages, protocols/procedures, contact information, and training on state educational agency (SEA) websites (N = 51) and compares findings by SFC percentages in each state. Availability of protocols/procedures and resources varies greatly by state, with most providing only some required or recommended by ESSA. One-way ANOVA results suggest states with higher percentages of SFC are more likely to have publicly available resources. SEAs can improve the availability of these resources to better facilitate collaboration and student outcomes.