Foster Care Program

  • Office of Health and Social Services

    Sylvia Florez, LCSW
    Foster Care Social Worker

    678-301-7270

    The Gwinnett County Public School’s Foster Care Program is dedicated to the educational excellence and stability of children and youth who are in the temporary custody of the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS).   The program envisions the implementation of evidence-based practices that aim to improve academic stability as well as enable students in foster care to achieve educational outcomes that equal or surpass that of their non-foster peers.

    Students in foster care have the right to:

    • Be immediately enrolled in school without vital documents available
    • Maintain enrollment at the school the student attended before coming into the current foster placement (school of origin)
    • Attend the zoned school according to where the foster family currently resides
    • Have considerations made to decrease the transfer of foster youth after a change of placement
    • Be awarded credit for all completed work in accordance with GCPS procedures
    • Receive transportation to and from the school of origin if requested by either foster parents or DFCS and determined to be in the “best interest” of the student
    • Receive transportation to and from the zoned school attended
    • Participate in school-related activities and receive free school meals

    The primary goal of the Foster Care Social Worker is to eliminate barriers to school enrollment and promote academic success for all students. In addition to providing support to local schools, the Foster Care Social Worker along with the school social workers serves as the link between families and community resources. The Foster Care Social Worker is responsible for providing ongoing training to families, schools, and community resources in an effort to promote awareness, education and most of all sensitivity to the needs of students in foster care.

    Please click on the link below to learn more: