foster care or adoption and school lottery

[Anonymous]

Thinking about either becoming a DC foster parent or adopting a child who is currently in foster care (most likely from out of state). Has anyone who's done those things also done the school lottery?

I assume that for a DC foster child, it would usually make sense to keep them in their current school at least through the end of the school year. But if you get a 2 year old, can you enter them in the lottery for next year? How much say does the foster parent have vs. the judge, birth family, GAL, and educational advocate? I'm sure it depends on the parties involved and the goal of the case. What happens if the kid moves from IB to OOB status between entering the lottery and starting school (or vice versa)? Can they keep sibling preference if sibs are placed elsewhere (and does it go by birth or foster sib or both)?

For a kid that may be placed from out of state, can you enter the lottery before the child arrives? I'm guessing it's similar to a whole family moving in over the summer from out of state. I realize there are a lot of other things to think about in the whole process but would be interested to hear from anyone who's done these things.

[Anonymous]

One thing I can say as an adoptive parent: don't play the lottery before the child arrives. Expectations are often upset at the last minute, and you really need to wait until you actually have a child in your home before taking steps (from baby showers to child care to preschool enrollment to what have you).

[Anonymous]

Congrats on considering a life-changing (for you and the child) move, it's an amazing thing to be a foster/adoptive parent.

That said, while it is a good idea to keep up on general info on which schools sound good to you, are near you, and checking schools out in a general way, the PP is 100% correct that there is NOTHING you can or should do about actually entering lotteries or applying to schools until you have a child in your home AND you are cleared for adoption!

Children being removed from their homes is already traumatic to the child, even if people in the home did terrible things to the child. Some kids want to stay in their school, some are dying to leave, others can go with the flow if it means they'll be in a good home. Once you adopt, then it's your decision to make because you're the parent, but until then... there are a lot of other decisionmakers, often including the birth parent and caseworker.

It's totally manageable, although it is a huge commitment let me be clear. But you can navigate it all, just don't get ahead of yourself on this. You have to have the child and know teh child is going to stay with you for awhile, and know that a change in school is best for the child. Then you can figure out your registration/enrollment plans.

Good luck OP!

[Anonymous]

For a foster kid it depends on whether birth parents still have their educational rights.

[Anonymous]

OP here--thanks all! I guess I was thinking that with a legally free kid from out of state (as opposed to a kid who's already in a DC school) if we happened to get matched but not placed during the lottery time it would make sense to enter the lottery based on what we know of the kid; if the placement didn't happen we could yield any spot we got, and if it turns out the kid would be a better fit at the in-bound school we could always change to that (except in the very unlikely scenario that the kid was in PK).

Certainly if the kid was already in a DC school and/or didn't have parental rights terminated, things would be very different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here--thanks all! I guess I was thinking that with a legally free kid from out of state (as opposed to a kid who's already in a DC school) if we happened to get matched but not placed during the lottery time it would make sense to enter the lottery based on what we know of the kid; if the placement didn't happen we could yield any spot we got, and if it turns out the kid would be a better fit at the in-bound school we could always change to that (except in the very unlikely scenario that the kid was in PK).

Certainly if the kid was already in a DC school and/or didn't have parental rights terminated, things would be very different.

I don't have experience with it but know a family that fostered and then adopted children. My understanding is that foster kids are considered "at risk" and there are a number of seats at each public and public charter school set aside for their placement. I recall that my friends chose a nearby DCPS and then later moved to a charter for a better fit.

You'll definitely get more details on that once you're in the foster system, but don't enter the lottery before the child is placed in your home. Good work and good luck!