Barriers to Education Foster youth faced many barriers when it came to education. Extensive research and data has been conducted with the intent of identifying barriers to education for foster youth. Previously completed research included a study by Zetlin, Weinberg, and Shea (2006), entitled Seeing the Whole Picture: Views from Diverse Participants on Barriers to Educating Foster Youths. These three authors relied on previous data to define foster youth as a vulnerable population. The peer-reviewed article articulates the need for collaborative support between the child welfare system, schools and other community resources to address the profound needs of educationally underachieving foster youth. The authors used an exploratory study that brought together focus groups consisting of current and former foster youth, guardians, representatives of school child welfare representatives, researchers and policy makers. The goal of the focus groups was to identify and discuss barriers to learning and success and strategies to address educational barriers facing foster youth in California. The researchers were able to code the focus group transcripts to identify 6 major themes: placement and instability, treatment/education programs, record/database transfer, accountability/outcome monitoring/advocacy, interagency collaboration/coordination, and confidentiality. The article highlights that “one of the primary factors influencing foster youth's educational outcomes is the residential instability they experience. The high level of residential mobility translates into continuous school transfers” (p. 167). These school moves have resulted in educational setbacks for foster youth. The article is summarized with the recommendations...... at the center of the article......of Orthopsychiatry, 75, 3, 381-394. Merdinger, J. M., Hines, A. M., Lemon Osterling, K., & Wyatt, P (2005). College pathways for former foster youth: Understanding factors that contribute to educational success. Child Welfare, 84(6), 867-896. Pecora, P.J., Williams, J., Kessler, R.C., Hiripi, E., O'Brien, K., Emerson, J., Herrick, M.A., Torres, D. (01 August 2006). Evaluate the educational outcomes of adults previously placed in foster care. Social work for children and families, 11, 3, 220-231. Ventura County Office of Education (2014). Local control and responsibility plan. Retrieved from http://www.vcoe.org/sass/LocalControlAccountabilityPlan(LCAP).aspxZetlin, A. G., Weinberg, L. A., & Shea, N. M. (2006). Overview: Views from multiple participants on barriers to foster youth's education. Children and schools, 28(3),165-173.