Today, HopSkipDrive, a child-focused ride-sharing company, announced a partnership with Los Angeles County’s Office of Education (LACOE) to transport foster youth to school.
Moving at what one official called a “fast and furious” pace to rectify its failure to comply with foster care mandates enshrined in the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), LACOE has contracted with the L.A.-based tech company to give foster kids rides to their so-called “school of origin” through the end of the school year.
“Students in foster care face multiple and sometimes ongoing trauma, including removal from their homes,” said Rachelle Touzard, who runs the foster care program within LACOE, in a press release. “Keeping them in their school with familiar teachers and friends can help minimize that secondary trauma and dramatically increase their potential for academic success.”
Research has shown that more than one-third of all foster youth will experience five or more school moves by the time they turn 18. And each move can cost four to six months of academic process.
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