Frequently Asked Questions

Child care is available for children in care and DCS may partially or fully cover the daycare fees depending on the facility you choose.

Children in foster care who are between 3 and 5 years old are also eligible for Head Start and are moved to the top of the waiting list. Children in foster care from birth to 3 years of age are eligible for Early Head Start services. Click here for more information. You can also call (866) 763-6481 to locate a Head Start or Early Head Start in your area.

Child Care Resources and Referral can help you find quality child care in your area. You can also contact this resource by calling (800) 308-9000.

First Things First's Quality First Program is Arizona's statewide quality improvement and rating system for center and home-based early care and education programs. You can locate child care providers using an easy interactive map, search by location, type of child care, age of your children, and/or quality star ratings.

Child Care Resources and Referral can help you find quality child care in your area. You can contact this resource by calling (800) 308-9000 or visiting their website.

ESSA is a federal law that promotes educational continuity and stability for foster children. ESSA will ensure children in foster care will stay in their school of origin if it is in their best interests to do so. ESSA changed section 725 of the McKenney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, removing foster children from their definition of “homeless children and youth.” Therefore, foster children are no longer covered under McKenney-Vento but they are covered under ESSA.

The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) website has additional information regarding foster children; on this website under “training” there is a power point presentation called “ESSA Foster Care 101” that has helpful information about ESSA.

The American Bar Association has published a fact sheet on ESSA and a fact sheet on Fostering Connections Act.

ESSA and the Fostering Connections Act both have provisions requiring schools and child welfare agencies (DCS) to work together to help children in foster care remain in their schools of origin when placed into a new home if it is in the child's best interests to do so. There are many considerations when making this decision, but the cost of transportation to the school of origin CANNOT be one of the considerations. It is ultimately the child's DCS case manager's decision regarding school selection.

You can find contact information for your school district's liaison on this webpage under “LEA POC List.” Your school district's liaison will work with the child's DCS case manager to determine school selection, help with the child's immediate enrollment, and will ensure transportation (if needed).

If it is decided that the child will not remain in their school of origin, here are the options to consider:

Public schools – You may choose to enroll the child into the local district school or apply for open enrollment into an out-of-district school.

Charter schools – Children in foster care may be enrolled in a local charter school. One option is Ombudsman Charter Schools (locations in Maricopa County and Tucson), a tuition free charter high school that provides an alternative to traditional high school for students ages 14-21 who are at risk of dropping out or who have dropped out of school and who want to return and earn their diploma. Website

Virtual/online schools – Before enrolling a child who is in foster care into a virtual or online school, get permission from the case manager in writing. Some school districts also have online schools. Some virtual charter schools in Arizona are: AZVA, Connections Academy; and Prima Vera.

Alternative schools – When a child has been expelled from his or her school, ask the district if they have an alternative school that the child can attend in the meantime. When enrolling a child into an alternative school, it is important to work with school administrators to develop a plan of when and how the child can transition back to mainstream schooling.

Homeschooling – While it is unusual for a child in foster care to be homeschooled, it has been permitted under extenuating circumstances. If you wish to homeschool a child in foster care, the case manager must document it as part of the child's written case plan.

Private schools – Permission may be granted to enroll a child who is in foster care into a private school on an individual basis under extenuating circumstances. Enrollment into a private school must be documented by the case manager as part of the child's written case plan.

According to ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) Foster Care provisions (which went into effect on 12/10/2016), the enrolling school must ensure immediate enrollment of foster children whether or not the foster parent has all of the required documentation. You should be able to enroll the child who is in foster care into the local school or a charter school with only the Notice to Provider that was given to you by the DCS case manager. This means that you do not have to have the birth certificate, immunization records, transcripts, or other required documentation to enroll.

Also, ESSA Foster Care provisions state that the enrolling school is responsible for contacting the child's previous school to request relevant records. The foster parent is not required to obtain the child's school records.

If you are having trouble enrolling the foster child in school, please contact your school district's liaison; you can find contact information for your school district's liaison on this webpage under “LEA POC List.”

ESSA is a federal law that promotes educational continuity and stability for foster children. ESSA will ensure children in foster care will stay in their school of origin if it is in their best interests to do so. School districts and child welfare (DCS) will work together to provide, arrange, and fund transportation to and from the school of origin. The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) website has additional information regarding foster children; on this website under “training” there is a power point presentation called “ESSA Foster Care 101” that has helpful information about ESSA.