RCOE Launches App Designed With Foster Youth For Foster Youth

RIVERSIDE – Approximately 40,000 foster youth are enrolled in California’s public schools with nearly one-third changing schools at least once a year. More than two-thirds of those students also move to a new residence in the same year—often more than 20 miles away into different districts or counties.

These are just a few of the disruptions to life and learning experienced by foster youth that served as the foundation for developing the FosterFerret app launched for foster youth by the Riverside County Office of Education in partnership with Vantaggio.

Direct foster student feedback via design thinking sessions with a user experience engineer, has led to the app’s focus on providing consistent, permanent access to important information and supports for foster youth.

“Addressing the barriers faced by foster youth starts with listening to the first-hand experiences of our students. Bold ideas like the development of FosterFerret are a direct result of engaging directly with students to overcome challenges that previously stood in the way of their academic and life goals,” said Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Edwin Gomez. “Thanks to the dedicated efforts of educators within RCOE, our district partners, and collaborators at local agencies and organizations, our foster youth are already experiencing early improvements in outcomes and a brighter future.”

Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Edwin Gomez launched the Foster Youth Success Initiative in late 2024 in response to the reality that foster youth face systemic barriers that consistently lead to lower educational outcomes than their peers. The first year of the initiative has been marked with intentional action to ensure that foster youth have the support, stability, and opportunities they deserve to succeed.

FosterFerret features include:

• The Digital Vault – A secure digital space where foster youth can store critical records such as birth certificates, school transcripts, individualized educational plans (IEPs), and other important files. Only the youth have access, making personal preparedness simple and safe.
  
  
• The Wellness Check-In – Powered by Gaggle, this feature gives foster youth a consistent space to reflect on how they're doing. Through brief, confidential surveys, the system alerts a trained crisis counselor when a student may need extra support, promoting early intervention and care. Since launch, users have submitted more than 400 wellness check-ins, with real-time counseling offered to students requiring immediate mental health support.
  
  
• The Hygiene Check-In – Students can opt-in to daily self-care reminders (e.g., brushing teeth, hand washing, showering) that may not receive appropriate attention while students are navigating self-esteem and trauma challenges. One student reported how these simple reminders supported her in caring for herself and increasing her confidence.
  
  
• The Live Notebook – An Al-powered assistant that invites foster youth to ask questions about school, jobs, applications, housing, and more.
  
  
• The Burrow Shop – An app-based shop where foster youth can use Ferret Funds to request school supplies, personal care items, and more. Deliveries are discreetly routed to their school, eliminating delays and removing approval bottlenecks. A total of 130 orders from students have already been fulfilled as of April 2026.
  
  
• The Diploma Pro – In collaboration with Graduation Alliance, this 100% online high school completion program is designed for youth in foster care who have dropped out or disengaged from school. This feature provides a supportive place to learn with stability and opportunities to thrive as they reconnect with their pursuit of a high school diploma. As of April 2026, 16 students have requested transcript analyses resulting in previously unavailable access to options for efficient and effective degree completion.

More than 91 foster youth students in 13 local school districts are currently using FosterFerret. Initial student feedback includes appreciation for access to necessities in The Burrow Shop and a voice of support from The Wellness Check-In.

"We had the pleasure of piloting the FosterFerret app with our foster youth students at Beaumont High School. Our students have been able to take advantage of the app early, leveraging it for all sorts of features that they had a part in designing themselves,” said Beaumont Unified School District Student Services Coordinator and Homeless and Foster Youth Liaison, Richard Rossano. “It is clear that when student voices lead the work, the result is something authentic, relevant, and truly supportive."

“Foster students in our high schools have shared how the ability to store their important documents digitally means they don’t have to worry about losing them whenever their placement changes,” said Jurupa Unified School District Foster and McKinney-Vento Counselor, Mariana Lopez Ramos. “The app also provides a way for students to advocate for themselves so they can get what they need to succeed and thrive, such as when one student facing a financial barrier was able to ask for and get funds from The Burrow Shop to purchase shoes needed to participate in a school sport.”

The FosterFerret app is available for free on iOS and Android devices. All 23 school districts in Riverside County now have access to FosterFerret, and multiple additional districts are being onboarded with training sessions. Additional details are available on the FosterFerret web page.

Foster youth in Riverside County are already experiencing improved educational outcomes when comparing the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years in areas including academic achievement, engagement, school climate, and college and career readiness (specific data points are available upon request).

Areas of focus within the Foster Youth Success Initiative include:

• Stability and Transition Support – ensuring continuity of education for students in transition between schools and after graduating from high school through data tracking, sharing best practices, and creating systems.
  
  
• Family Engagement – identifying gaps in knowledge for students and families as they navigate the educational and social services systems, assessing the process for determining and transferring educational rights for foster youth, and determining prevention and early intervention strategies for biological families that may avert initial engagement with the foster care system.
  
  
• Educational and Social-Emotional Support – assessing data, identifying best practices, promoting connectedness and student self-efficacy, and identifying additional academic supports.
  
  
• Interagency Collaboration and Communication – assessing relationships with a variety of organizations—from city government and law enforcement to social services and school districts—in order to minimize gaps in communication and maximize collaboration. Identifying additional agencies and organizations in the community that can provide support to foster students and families.
  
  
• Student Voice – proactively harnessing student voice to drive the focus of the overall initiative. Features weekly meetings, in-person workshops, advocacy, and more.

The Riverside County Office of Education has partnered with the Inland Empire Community Foundation to set up two tax-deductible methods to financially support foster youth in Riverside County.

Donations can be made to the RCOE Foster Youth Services Fund to support the diverse needs of foster youth in the K-12 public education system in Riverside County. Additionally, the RCOE Foster Youth Success Scholarship Fund provides direct funding to support the needs of foster youth after high school as they pursue their college and career dreams. More information on donating to both funds is available at Inland Empire Community Fund (click on “Donate Today” and select one or both of the fund names in the search bar).

For additional information on the Foster Youth Success Initiative, contact Amanda Corridan, Chief Academic Officer, Riverside County Office of Education, at acorridan@rcoe.us.

About the Riverside County Office of Education (RCOE)

RCOE is a service agency supporting the county’s 23 school districts and 500+ schools that serve nearly 430,000 students—more than the student population of 17 states. RCOE services include administrative support to districts and charter schools, programs for preschool, special education, pregnant minor, correctional, migrant, and vocational students. In addition, the organization provides professional training, support, and resources for more than 18,000 teachers, administrators, and staff, throughout the 7,000 square miles of Riverside County.