Graduation Success: Educational Support for Foster Care Children
This solution addresses low high school graduation rates in King County, Washington for foster children

Problem Description
Foster children drop out of high school at alarmingly high rates: less than half of youth in the foster care system graduate from high school on time, compared to 80% of their peers. Research tells us that this lack of education leads to further problems: nearly 25% of those leaving foster care will be homeless as adults. 80% will live below the poverty line; and more than 30% will receive public assistance.Building Blocks
- Implementing the “ABC Plus” model for graduation success
- Providing Education Specialists
- Implementing University of Minnesota's Check and Connect methodology
- Leveraging auxiliary services and partners to provide integrative care
- Using the power of incentives to drive participation
- Tracking Proven, Goal-Specific KPIs
- Establishing a sound business plan with the Altruist Partners framework
Story
Treehouse’s (the organization behind this solution) mission is to provide foster kids a childhood and a future. It was founded in 1988 by social workers who saw the deprivation often faced by children in foster care. After successful initiatives around provisions (toys, clothes, school supplies) and extracurricular activities, Treehouse on is 25th anniversary is now focussing on education and specifically graduation rates from high school. This new program, called Graduation Success, sets a goal of having foster kids graduate at the same rate as their peers with a plan for the their future, by 2017.
Photos
Resources
- Treehouse Summary PDF
A document detailing the history of the Treehouse Graduation Success program, its mission, and it's goals moving forward.
- Business Plan Concepts
Organisations Involved
Contributed By
- Lynda Hall, Treehouse
Solution Stage
One of the 7 stages of an innovation. Learn moreSTAGE | SPECIALIST SKILLS REQUIRED | EXAMPLE ACTIVITIES | RISK LEVEL AND HANDLING | FINANCE REQUIRED | KINDS OF EVIDENCE GENERATED | GOAL |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Developing and implementing5 | Strong leadership, management, implementation skills |
|
MEDIUM |
HIGH | A robust and detailed case developed through formal evaluation and evidence gathering – use of a control group to isolate impact | An implemented and sustainable innovation |
Submitted By
Bryan Lehrer