Hannah Mercuris, Senior Attorney in the Education Practice at Brooklyn Defender Services (BDS), testified before the New York City Council Committee on Education Oversight Hearing on Legislation related to Students in the Foster System.

BDS supports Intro 857, which would require the Department of Education (DOE) to report on education metrics for students in the foster system. We are encouraged that the City Council is asking for more data on students in the foster system. In our role as educational advocates for families directly impacted by this system, Brooklyn Defender Services sees the many ways that students in the foster system become disconnected from their school communities at a time when their lives have been disrupted by family separation and may be experiencing incredible distress as a result. We work with parents who fight to ensure that their children continue to make educational progress and retain the relationships they have developed in their because they know how important these connections are during their time in the foster system.

Read her testimony here.