Transitional Youth Services

Welcome to the Santa Barbara County Education Office's Transitional Youth Services, where we proudly serve as the Foster Youth Services Coordinating Program (FYSCP). Our goal is to enhance the educational outcomes of foster youth by collaborating with local school districts, health and human services agencies, and other key organizations.

Our Goals:

• Increasing Stability: We strive to help foster youth maintain consistent school placements.

• Improving Education: We are dedicated to boosting educational performance and personal achievement for foster youth.

• Expanding Access: We aim to increase the education community's capacity at the county level to expand access to services. 

Our Support Services Include:

• Records Management: Assisting with the retrieval of health and school records.

• Comprehensive Services: Collaborating to coordinate instructional support, counseling, tutoring, mentoring, and vocational training.

• Rights Advocacy: Ensuring that the educational rights of foster youth, as outlined in AB 490, are fully upheld.

We envision a world where youth in foster care have equitable access to educational opportunities and supportive services that expand their capacity to thrive.

• Foster Youth Education Toolkit

• Educator Resource Guide (CDE)

• California Foster Youth Education Law Fact Sheets 

• California Foster Youth Education Law Fact Sheets (Spanish)

• Trauma Informed Education

• Best Practices to Improve Education Outcomes for Foster Youth

• California’s Partial Credit Model

• Every Student Succeeds Act

• Foster Youth Education Rights (CDE)

• Foster Youth Rights Handbook

• School Readiness

• School Success K-12

• College and Career Success

• Foster Youth Post Secondary Planning Guide

• School of Origin Transportation Guidelines

• Foster Youth Education Rights (CDE)

• Educator and Foster Youth Liaison Resource Guide (CDE)

• School of Origin Transportation Guidelines

• Contact Information for Foster Youth Services Coordinators

• School Success K-12

• Foster Youth Education Rights (CDE)

• Liaison Meeting Schedule 2024-2025

• Foster Care Educational Rights Youth Page

• California Youth Connection

• Foster Youth Post Secondary Planning Guide

• Foster Youth Bill of Rights

• Education Rights of Foster Youth

• NextUP - California Community Colleges

• Foster Youth Education Rights (CDE)

• California College Pathways

Link to Resource Guide coming soon!

Students who experience homelessness often face trauma and instability that affect their educational access and achievement. In order to help address these challenges, Transitional Youth Services provides the following services:

• Assistance with enrollment, transportation, access to school services
• Backpacks filled with school supplies
• Educational materials & games
• Hygiene kits
• Assistance obtaining lost or missing school records
• Coordination of services between schools and the social service system
• Advocacy and training on the educational needs of homeless and foster youth

School districts also provide services to students and families experiencing homelessness. These services vary depending on the district and school site. We can assist you with referrals to school-based and community-based services such as:

• Tutoring and mentoring
• Assistance accessing and navigating educational and housing services
• Credit assessment, attendance checks, records review
• Ongoing educational case management
• Enrichment programs

Parents and guardians, students, school staff, and anyone working in the social services system may make a referral for services, or contact us for information or other assistance. 

• Children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason

• Children who may be living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or shelters.

• Children and youth who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings

• Children and youth who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings, or

• Migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are children who are living in similar circumstances listed above

• McKinney-Vento Enrollment and Participation FAQs

• McKinney-Vento Toolkit

• McKinney-Vento Act at a Glance

• Determining McKinney-Vento Eligibility 

• Homeless Education Technical Assistance Center - Training Videos

• National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE)

• National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth

• Local Educational Agencies’ Instructions for the Housing Questionnaire

• You Can Enroll in School Poster (English)

• You Can Enroll in School Poster (Translations)

• National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE)

• Understanding Doubled Up

• Calendar of Events 

• Homeless Liaison Toolkit

• Information for New Homeless Liaisons

• Homeless Education Technical Assistance Center - Training Videos

• Homeless Education Technical Assistance Center

• You Can Enroll in School Poster (English)

• You Can Enroll in School Poster (Translations)

• National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth

• Understanding Doubled Up 

• California Coalition for Youth

• Liaison Meeting Schedule for 2024-2025

• The Most Frequently Asked Questions on the Educational Rights of Children and Youth in Homeless Situations

• Point Source Youth

• California Youth Crisis Line

• SchoolHouse Connection Scholarship and Youth Resources

Link to Resource Guide coming soon!