Educating Kids in Our Care

Youth in our care, such as children in foster care and in juvenile detention facilities, need education opportunities to be successful, both as students and as members of society. While the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is the lead state education agency, several Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) agencies, including the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and the Department of Youth Services (DYS), play an important role in ensuring that youth in our care have the same opportunities as other youth in the Commonwealth.

We have several strategic priorities that support educating kids in our care. These priorities include integrating educational, social, and health services to ensure that students enter school ready to learn; early identification of and intervention with students who are at risk of failing or dropping out; and supporting college and career readiness initiatives, including initiatives that offer accelerated graduation and early entry into college. We also deliver several services to improve education access, opportunity, and equity—from providing information about high school career/vocational education programs to offering adaptive technology that enables students who are blind to improve their educational success.

Focus Area

We offer educational programs to help the children we serve to become responsible and productive members of the community.