![Students line up on socially distanced dots painted on the sidewalk to wait their turn to have their temperatures checked before entering Middletown High School.](https://advocatesforchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/AMERICANED_MIDDLETOWN_123-500x333.jpg)
This May 2021 AFC and Legal Aid Society report highlights the urgent need for the Department of Education to launch a small office focused solely on the needs of students in foster care. Currently, the DOE does not have an office, team, or even a single staff member dedicated to supporting the 6,000 New York City youth in foster care, a group of students particularly in need of specialized support.