Sonoma County Office of Education

Foster Youth Services

Foster Youth Services

The mission of our Foster Youth Services Coordination Program (FYSCP) is to support the county's approximately 450 youth living in foster care to access their education and attain their educational goals. This support takes the form of collaboration with students and families, school and district staff, and other county agencies in order to remove barriers to educational access and expand educational opportunities.

In partnership with all of the agencies serving youth in the foster care system, the role of FYSCP is to provide resources and support to school staff and families in order to create a bridge that will help students succeed.

Contact Us

For general questions about the Sonoma County Office of Education Foster Youth Services Coordinating Program or education rights of youth in foster care, please contact:
Debra Sanders, Ed.D.
Foster and Homeless Youth Education Services Coordinator
Sonoma County Office of Education
dsanders@scoe.org
707-524-2661

Foster Youth Data

Foster youth data on enrollment, test performance, and more is available at the California Department of Education's Dataquest website. This Foster Youth Fact Sheet (pdf) explains how foster youth are doing in Sonoma County and some measures SCOE is taking to encourage Foster Youth success and help school districts.

Quick Links

Program Goals

By removing barriers that occur due to frequent changes in home placement, this program helps ensure that foster youth can benefit from uninterrupted educational access. Specific goals are to:

  • Reach out to foster youth and their families and provide education-related support, such as helping them make contact with school districts and access educational resources.
  • Coordinate, support, and expand foster youth tutoring programs.
  • Strengthen relationships with partner agencies serving foster youth, including county departments, VOICES Sonoma, and Santa Rosa Junior College.
  • Implement the Foster Focus software, which allows for the transfer of student information to expedite school enrollment.

School District Liaisons

District Foster Youth Education Liaisons support foster youth in their districts by:

  • Facilitating immediate enrollment in school
  • Ensuring the timely transfer of education records when a foster youth changes school placements
  • Supporting academic achievement
  • Encouraging school attendance and reducing truancy and drop-out rates
  • Reducing incidents of student discipline problems and juvenile delinquency
  • Communicating with foster youth and appropriate supporting individuals such as foster parents, education rights holders, social workers, and CASA in order to provide coordinated support to foster youth.
  • Ensuring that foster youth receive the appropriate safeguards under: AB 490 (School Stability and Timely Transfer of Records) and AB 167 (High School Graduation Requirements)
District Liaison Phone Email
Alexander Valley Union Matt Reno, Superintendent 707-433-1375 mreno@alexandervalleyusd.org
Bellevue Union Tracy Whitaker, Director Student Svcs 707-542-5197 x3 twhitaker@bellevueusd.org
Bennett Valley Union Sue Field, Superintendent 707-542-2201 x12 sue.field@bvusd.org
Cinnabar Sandy Doyle, Superintendent 707-765-4345 sdoyle@cinnabar.k12.ca.us
Cloverdale Unified Jeremy Decker, Superintendent 707-894-1993 deckerj@cusd.org
Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified Matt Marshall, Director Student Svcs 707-792-4540 Matt_Marshall@crpusd.org
Dunham Daniel Hoffman, Superintendent/Principal 707-795-5050 dhoffman@dunhamsd.12.ca.us
Forestville Union Renee Semik, Superintendent/Principal 707-887-9767 x7702 rsemik@forestvilleusd.org
Fort Ross John Markatos, Superintendent 707-847-3390 fresd@mcn.org
Geyserville Unified Debra Bertolucci, Interim Supe. 707-857-3592 dbert@gusd.org
Gravenstein Union Dave Rose, Superintendent 707-823-7008 x213 drose@grav.k12.ca.us
Guerneville Dana Pedersen, Superintendent 707-869-2864 x116 dpedersen@guernevilleschool.org
Harmony Union Matthew Morgan, Superintendent/Principal 707-874-1205 x11 mmorgan@harmonyusd.org
Healdsburg Diane Conger, Director Student Svcs 707-431-3480 dconger@husd.org
Horicon Jeff McFarland, Supe/Principal 707-886-5322 jmcfarland@horiconsd.org
Kashia Frances Johnson, Administrator 707-785-9682 fjohnson@scoe.org
Kenwood Bob Bales, Superintendent 707-833-2500 bbales@kenwoodschool.org
Liberty Chris Rafanelli, Superintendent 707-795-4380 crafanelli@libertysd.org
Mark West Union Rachel Valenzuela, Director Student Svcs 707-524-2799 rvalenzuela@mwusd.org
Monte Rio Union Nathan Myers, Superintendent 707-865-2266 nmyers@mrusd.k12.ca.us
Montgomery Judy Mercieca, Principal 707-632-5221 jmercieca@mescaz.org
Oak Grove Union Amber Stringfellow, Superintendent 707-545-0171 astringfellow@ogusd.org
Old Adobe Union Cindy Kerr Friberg, Director Student Svcs 707-765-4319 cfriberg@oldadobe.org
Petaluma City Liz Chacon, Assistant Superintendent & Title IX Coordinator Students 707-778-4960 lchacon@petk12.org
Piner-Olivet Union Carmen Diaz-French, Superintendent 707-522-3000 cdiaz-french@pousd.org
Rincon Valley Union Cathy Myhers, Spec Ed Director 707-542-7375 myhers@rvusd.org
Roseland Moises Fernandez, Counselor 707-546-7050 x2179 mfernandez@roselandsd.org
Santa Rosa City Sydney Smith, Coordinator SAFE Office 707-890-3800 x 80418 sysmith@srcs.k12.ca.us
Sebastopol Union Linda Irving, Superintendent 707-829-4570 lirving@sebusd.org
Sonoma Valley Unified Elizabeth Kaufman, Instructional Services 707-939-4895 ekaufman@sonomavly.k12.ca.us
Twin Hills Union Barbara Bickford, Superintendent 707-823-0871 bbickford@twinhillsusd.org
Two Rock Union Betha Macclain, Superintendent 707-762-6617 bmacclain@trusd.org
Waugh Mike Gardner, Superintendent 707-765-3331 mgardner@waugh.k12.ca.us
West Side Union Kris Menlove, Superintendent/Princ. 707-433-3923 x12 kmenlove@westsideusd.org
West Sonoma County Union High Laura Schmitt, Director - Special Education 707-824-6405 lschmitt.do@wscuhsd.k12.ca.us
Wilmar Union Eric Hoppes, Supe/Principal 707-765-4340 ehoppes@wilmarusd.org
Windsor Unified Allison Griggs, Program Coordinator 707-837-7700 agriggs@wusde.org
Wright Adam Schaible, Superintendent 707-542-0550 x102 aschaible@wrightesd.org
Andrew Leonard, Board President
"The SCOE board is unique in that we are a direct interface between the County Office of Education and the community we serve. Not only does the Sonoma County Board of Education set policy for its alternative education program and serve oversight roles for SCOE, it also models innovative and successful public-private partnerships in the community. We see ourselves as a conduit for progress in education throughout the K-12 spectrum; SCOE staff and the board all work toward this goal together." - Andrew Leonard, Board President