Posted by
John R. LaPlante on Tuesday, October 03, 2006 8:57:02 AM
Earlier this year the Maryland Public Policy Institute announced that it has received a $25,000 grant from the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation to promote school choice for foster children.
While school choice can benefit children in all situations, foster children, who by definition live in an unsettled situation, could use choice the most. Says Dan Lips, author of the Institute’s policy initiative:
“Children require specially tailored education and assistance to help with the difficult transition from youth to adulthood. Unlike their peers in traditional families, foster children often do not have an adequate safety net or social network. They are unable to rely on parents and other relatives for support during the school years and to facilitate a smooth transition out of the home and into adulthood.”
The proposal, which would offer scholarships of approximately $8,000 to the state’s 11,500 children in foster care, would impose no additional financial burden on the state’s taxpayers. To the contrary, the proposal could save taxpayer money. Individuals who have been in foster care are more likely to commit crimes, abuse drugs and alcohol, and suffer from poor health.
Educational choice could help foster children in several ways, including the promotion of stable peer groups and increasing the ownership they have over their own lives.