Foster Youth Services

The mission of our Foster Youth Services Coordination Program (FYSCP) is to support the county's approximately 350 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.

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@busd.org
Bennett Valley Union	Sue Field, Superintendent	707-542-2201 x12	sue.field@bvusd.org
Cinnabar	Kristina Arcuri, Superintendent	707-765-4345	karcuri@cinnabar.k12.ca.us
Cloverdale Unified	Stephanie Alexander, Director Student Svcs and Special Ed	707-894-1994	alexanders@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/Principal	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	Tami Pallingston	707-522-3000	tpallingston@pousd.org
Rincon Valley Union	Cathy Myhers, Spec Ed Director	707-542-7375	myhers@rvusd.org
Roseland	Moises Fernandez, Counselor	707-546-7089 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	Charles Wilson, Director, Educational Services	707-935-4224	cwilson@sonomaschools.org
Twin Hills Union	Barbara Bickford, Superintendent	707-823-0871	bbickford@twinhillsusd.org
Two Rock Union	Eric Hoppes	707-762-6617	ehoppes@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	Sheila Garvey, Supe/Principal	707-765-4340	sgarvey@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