The Individualized Child Achievement Program (ICAP) is an innovative program that provides social group and web-based educational assistance to children in foster care who are functioning below grade level.

Foster children who age out of the system frequently do not have educational skills and competencies that support gainful employment or positive psycho/social adaptation.  Academic achievement for children in foster care is of utmost importance.  We estimate that sixty percent of the children entering The Martin Pollak Project, Inc. are performing two or more grade levels below their respective age groups in Math and Reading.

The ICAP Program was developed and piloted in the Treatment Foster Care Program of the Martin Pollak Project, Inc. The program goal is to ensure that each Martin Pollak child has individual support and services to maximize their educational achievement.  Four hours of instruction are provided weekly, together with art and cultural activities to support learning, esteem and improved overall performance in school. The A+Anywhere web-based software is used to increase the flexibility and utility of the services across changes in placement and school. Report cards, A+ AnyWhere software reports and teacher conferences are used to measure the child's progress.

The curriculum is standardized to Federal and Maryland standards. The A+ AnyWhere software provides individual performance benchmarks.  When all units of work for a grade level are successfully completed, the software moves the child to the next higher grade level. The program results in the coordination of efforts to improve academic skills of the child by the child’s Case Manager, the foster parent, and the school.