Community Corner
UMass Memorial Gets Second $30K Gift For Foster Care Clinic
About 6,800 school-aged children are in foster care in Massachusetts, according to the hospital system.
WORCESTER, MA: A Worcester-based health system has received its second $30,000 gift from United Way of Central Massachusetts to support services for children entering foster care.
The gift will support UMass Memorial Medical Center's Education Navigator Program within the Foster Children Evaluation Service Clinic, known as FaCES. The clinic provides medical evaluations to children entering foster care in Massachusetts, while the education navigator works with child welfare staff and foster families to help address students' academic needs.
“We are grateful to United Way of Central Massachusetts for their ongoing support of FaCES and the Education Navigator position,” UMass Memorial Medical Center President Justin Precourt said. “Children in foster care face significant educational challenges and the support of United Way of Central Massachusetts helps us provide critical services to a vulnerable population.”
Foster Children Face Education Gaps
About 6,800 school-aged children are in foster care in Massachusetts, according to UMass Memorial Health. Those children are 3.5 times more likely to receive an in-school disciplinary action, four times more likely to receive an out-of-school suspension and 10 times more likely to repeat a grade, according to the health system.
Their four-year high school graduation rate is 55 percent, compared with the Massachusetts average of 88 percent, according to UMass Memorial Health.
“These stark differences reflect the many educational disparities experienced by children in foster care,” said Dr. Heather C. Forkey, director of FaCES. “Because children spend so much of their time in school, academic difficulties often reflect challenges in other areas of their lives. We are grateful to United Way of Central Massachusetts for helping us address these issues and support the well-being of the children.”
The education navigator receives referrals from the FaCES clinic and members of a child’s care team. The navigator works with foster families and schools to identify academic challenges, address educational needs and connect students with available resources.
UMass Memorial said the services are not reimbursable through Medicaid, making support from United Way of Central Massachusetts important to keeping the program available.
