Many children in foster care have issues in school. Those issues become prominent with children with ODD or ADHD and/or RAD. One of the biggest issues is completing the work and follow through. These kids often do the work but it gets lost and never turned in. So all their grades suffer.

When working with kids with missing assignment issues, it is important to set up a system that will help them succeed. Sometimes the teachers are willing to help and sometimes they are too busy and are not able to extend the extra encouragement the child may need.

One very simple way to set up an easy system that the child can learn and be successful with is to buy folders of different colors for every class.

One side of the folder should be clearly marked for Incomplete Assignments. The other side should be marked Completed Assignments TO BE TURNED IN.

When the child completes the homework it is them moved to the Turn In side of the folder. That way it is placed in the correct spot and not lost with in the other work that still needs to be completed.

Each day the child checks each folder in each class, then hands the completed work to the teacher. It becomes a safe routine and helps the child get more assignments turned in and their grade will usually go up within a month or so of applying this easy system.

The kids will need mom or dad to ask daily if all the assignments were turned in and check the folders for each class to see if there are any new homework assignments.

Teaching a child with memory issues to write notes and keep track of dates and times of events is a must. It helps them to get used to an agenda. Purchasing a daily planner for these kids and helping them use it is also a wonderful idea.

Little things like these can keep a child from feeling like a failure and help them learn to challenge themselves to follow through each task.

This is the same at home with chores. Make sure you check to see that they are complete before you give in and let them go off to play. They need a structured lifestyle so that they will be able to function as they get older and are ready to be out on their own.

The more you teach them to accomplish for themselves, the easier it will be for them when they are living on their own. It is a little time consuming for the parents but in the long run it is so important to your child. Ignore the attitudes and comments they will make as you pursue them to complete a task. One day they may say thank you. But the real thanks will be watching them succeed on their own.