By Trish Svoboda

The Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) revealed in its annual Foster Care Report Card that graduation rates for children in foster care rose by 5.3 percent in the 2022-23 school year. This report represents a joint effort between DCF and the Kansas State Department of Education.

The report also provided information regarding chronic absenteeism, attendance, dropout rates, and enrollment in at-risk preschool programs or special education services. The 2022-23 school year showed chronic absenteeism decreased by 3.9% while attendance rates rose to 89.1% compared to 88.4% in the 2021-22 school year. The number of students enrolled in at-risk preschool programs or special education services increased from 82.1% to 84.4%. The report also showed that dropout rates had a slight decrease.

“I credit these encouraging numbers to our focus on cooperation, coordination, and communication between DCF, the Department of Education, Case Management Providers (CMP) education coordinators and local school districts,” DCF Secretary Laura Howard said. “The partnership between groups ensures that the students have access to educational supports and services.”