Download or read book An Ex post Theory of Change Assessment of Foster Care Alumni Support Services Within a Higher Education System written by Leandra A. Harris and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Foster Care Alumni (FCAs), or individuals who left the foster care system either by aging out, adoption, or returning to their family of origin, typically make up a small, fragmented portion of the student body at higher education institutions. This group is increasingly referred to as Foster Scholars on higher education campuses. FCAs tend to have unique and significant challenges like lack of support, need for mental and emotional health services, financial needs beyond tuition and campus fees, and the need for enhanced academic support. This dissertation provides an understanding of FCAs and their academic, emotional, and social needs. It looks at how the State University of New York (SUNY) higher education system uses the Foster Youth College Success Initiative (FYCSI) to address these needs. By conducting an ex-post Theory of Change assessment, this study weighs SUNY’s espoused theories-of-action against their participating campus’ theories-in-use to understand the level of implementation fidelity at the institutional level. This study also sought to determine if campuses align with holistic FCA program services, as defined by this study. Survey results determined that most participating SUNY campuses align with FYCSI policy, with at least six of the eighteen campuses also aligning with FYCSI and holistic FCA program services.

Download or read book Life after Foster Care written by Loring Paul Jones and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2018-08-17 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book apprises readers of the present conditions of former and emancipated foster youth, provides evidence-based best practices regarding their experiences, and proposes new policies for ensuring better outcomes for these children upon discharge from foster care. For most American youth, the transition to adulthood is gradual and aided by support from parents and others. In contrast, foster youth are expected to arrive at self-sufficiency abruptly and without the same level of support. Such an expectation may be due in part to what Loring Paul Jones has found in his research: that many of the studies conducted thus far have been fragmented and incomplete, often focusing on a particular state or agency that may follow policies not applicable nationwide. This book connects the dots between these disparate studies to provide child welfare practitioners, policy makers, and students with a broader picture of the state of American youth following discharge from foster care. It examines not only child welfare policies but also related policies in areas such as housing and education that may contribute to the success or failure of foster youth in society. It additionally draws lessons from successful programs to provide readers with the tools needed to develop foster and after-care systems that more closely mirror the support afforded to youth in the general population.

Download or read book What Works in Foster Care written by Peter J. Pecora and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2009-09-02 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On any given day, nearly half a million children are served by foster care services in the U.S. at an annual cost of over $25 billion. Growing demand and shrinking funds have so greatly stressed the child welfare system that calls for orphanages have re-entered the public debate for the first time in nearly half a century. New ideas are desperately needed to transform a system in crisis, guarantee better outcomes for children in foster care, and reduce the need for out-of-home care in the first place. Yet little is known about what works in foster care. Very few studies have examined how alumni have fared as adults or tracked long-term health effects, and even fewer have directly compared different foster care services. In one of the most comprehensive studies of adults formerly in foster care ever conducted, the Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study found that quality foster care services for children pay big dividends when they grow into adults. Key investments in highly trained staff, low caseloads, and robust supplementary services can dramatically reduce the rates of mental disorders and substance abuse later in life and increase the likelihood of completing education beyond high school and remaining employed. The results of this unparalleled study document not only the more favorable outcomes for youth who receive better services but the overall return when an investment is made in high quality foster care: every dollar invested in a child generates $1.50 in benefits to society. These findings form the core of this book's blueprint for reform. By keeping more children with their families and investing additional funds in enhanced foster care services, child welfare agencies have the opportunity to greatly improve the health, well being, and economic prospects for foster care alumni. What Works in Foster Care? presents a model foster care program that promises to revolutionize the way policymakers, administrators, case workers, and researchers think about protecting our most vulnerable youth.

Download or read book Former Foster Youth in Postsecondary Education written by Jacob P. Gross and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-05-15 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the attainment gap between foster youth and their peers. Specifically focusing on post-secondary access and success for foster youth, Gross points out the challenges foster youth face in the primary and secondary school context, such as being less likely to complete high school. These barriers to former foster youth continue once enrolled in post-secondary education, and can manifest as lack of institutional support, financial barriers, and limited to no familial support. The author discusses what policy makers and practitioners need to know to better support the educational attainment of former foster youth.

Download or read book Investigating the Predictors of Postsecondary Education Success and Post college Life Circumstances of Foster Care Alumni written by Amy Michele Salazar and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a group, youth who have spent time in foster care are far behind the general population in postsecondary educational attainment. Nevertheless, most do hold aspirations for higher education. For those who make it to college, foster care alumni face a variety of obstacles related to successful postsecondary completion. However, it is unclear whether the factors that affect postsecondary success in this population are similar to those identified for other college students or more unique to the distinctive experience of being in foster care. Furthermore, while there is general consensus that higher education is beneficial to foster care alumni in overcoming adversity, no study has examined how foster care alumni who graduate from college actually fare in their adult lives compared with the general population of college graduates, or with those in the general population who did not graduate college. The study aims first to identify the predictors of postsecondary retention and success using survey data from a cross-sectional sample of foster care alumni who received Casey Family Scholarship Program or Orphan Foundation of America Foster Care to Success postsecondary scholarships. Second, the study compares adult outcomes of foster care alumni graduates with general population graduates and general population non-graduates to explore the role higher education plays in these youths' lives. Results are interpreted in relation to Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory, theories of educational persistence and motivation, trauma theory, and theories related to other difficulties of being in foster care. Analyses include bivariate examinations of postsecondary factors and their relation to college disengagement; discrete-time survival analysis of general college retention factors and factors more unique to the foster care population in predicting college graduation; and multivariate comparisons (ANOVA's, ANCOVA's, and chi-squares) of foster youth graduates and non-foster youth graduates and non-graduates in relation to their post-college life circumstances. In bivariate comparisons of general population factors related to retention, five of the nine factors (academic-related skills, institutional commitment, social support, social involvement, and institutional financial support) had at least one indicator with a significant or trend-level relationship with college disengagement. In bivariate comparisons of foster care-specific factors related to retention, four out of the seven factors (maltreatment/ trauma/PTSD, other mental health problems, independent living stability, tangible support) had at least one item with a significant or trend-level relationship with college disengagement. Comparing the two separate factor models, the general population factor group modeled the data slightly better in predicting college graduation than the foster care-specific factor model. No model improvement was found when foster care-specific factors were added into the general population factor model. Both general population and foster care alumni graduates fared more positively than general population non-graduates for three post-college factors: individual income, financial satisfaction, and happiness. Only the general population graduates were found to be faring better than general population non-graduates on a variety of other factors. Foster youth graduates fared less positively than general population graduates on a variety of post-college outcomes. Results have implications for policy and practice regarding the most effective means of supporting postsecondary aspirations of youth with foster care experience.

Download or read book An Examination of the Educational Trajectory of Foster Care Alumni Regarding the Social Capital Held by Their Foster Parents written by Adina N. Lundy (Ed.D. candidate at the University of Hartford) and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the educational trajectory of foster care alumni regarding the social capital held by their foster parents as it relates to college access by employing the framework advanced by Perna and Titus (2005) which was based on Bourdieu and Passeron (1990). This age group was chosen because despite educational reform interventions within k-12, a college readiness gap remains (Choy, 2002). The college journey starts as early as grade school, a time in which remedial limitations may be diagnosed and addressed. Research by Reed (1996) showed that 17% of foster children require remedial instruction at the grade school level but fail to be diagnosed as a result of poor agency coordination. As a society we have, by default, consented to the removal of children from their biological homes. The foster home, therefore, is tasked with providing a nurturing setting that is an improvement from the biological home setting from which the child is removed. The foster parent, then, should engage in behavior change interventions that can be observed in the school setting, take corrective action when poor agency coordination occurs, expedite the individual education plan, encourage the foster child and monetize materials of value for the child for the duration that the child remains in placement. This study addressed a gap in the literature by evaluating intelligence from foster care alumni. Educational advocacy, by the foster parent, on behalf of the foster child is a prerequisite if foster youth are to meet benchmarks that indicate long term survival. Foster youth reported the lack of long-term adult support as a barrier to persistence in education. Employing the conceptual framework of Perna and Titus (2005) this study examined what foster alumni reported regarding the social capital held by their foster caregivers as it related to college access.

Download or read book An Examination of Post secondary Education Access Retnetion and Success of Foster Care Youth written by Angelique Day and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Changes in the U.S. economy have made the attainment of a higher education credential more important than ever to ensure self-sufficiency. Therefore, it is critical that the child welfare, K-12, and higher education systems encourage and support the postsecondary educational aspirations of court wards. When the state makes the decision to remove a child from his/her biological home, it bears the responsibility to provide the educational guidance as well as assistance otherwise provided by families during the transition from high school to college. This dissertation explores the educational outcomes of older youth in care by first looking at the perception of high school aged foster youth in identifying the barriers and pathways they face in graduating from high school and accessing college and then will investigate persistence in post-secondary education for a sample of foster care alumni who are enrolled at a four-year college. The first study investigates the barriers and pathways high school and college-aged foster care youth face in completeing high school and in transitioning from high school to college using action research strategies, which are based on an empowerment theoretical framework. The second study follows a cohort of students who were able to successfully enroll in a four-year university and tracks persistence in their post-secondary education program using two logistic regression models. The final study takes a look at the same cohort of university enrolled students, but tracks time varying indicators including persistence to graduation and academic achievement of the students throughout their post-secondary journey through the use of discrete time hazard models. Paper two aims to address whether having a placement history in the foster care system predicts dropping out, controlling for gender and race. Paper three examines the issue of college persistence by using an event history analysis to model relative risk of graduation from college over time. Study three also includes an additional time varying covariate, academic performance (GPA), and examines whether academic achievement predicts time to graduation. Although each paper is independent, they are connected by the common theme of college access and persistence of young people who have aged out of the foster care system. The benefit to the author of the three-paper method is that the task of submitting the findings of the study for publication is eased as the dissertation contains three stand-alone articles. A drawback for the reader of the three-paper method is that there is redundancy in reading the same sections in each paper. The reader is encouraged to keep in mind that some information may be redundant when read as a whole document.

Download or read book Supporting Independence written by Catherine P. Forte and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of foster alumni in community and technical colleges, with a focus on Washington State, using a qualitative research approach. Foster alumni may be considered a sub-set of first generation students, yet they have needs that extend beyond those of other first-generation students (e.g., housing). Examination of this issue is timely. Funding designated for foster alumni in higher education has increased in recent years, leading to a variety of support structures and levels of service at the colleges. Yet in the current budget climate, with state support diminishing, the two-year colleges face increasing challenges in providing support not only for foster alumni but for all students. Foster alumni moving into adulthood and through the state colleges represent the quintessential case of in loco parentis, yet their emerging status as adults needs to be supported with appropriate services, not forced dependency. This dissertation consists of three major manuscripts: a summary of the literature and two research reports, one focused on overall findings and the second focused on moving from the findings to considerations for practice. All three manuscripts utilized the critical social science or social justice perspective. The research manuscripts report the findings of a qualitative study using a collective case study design. Two colleges that serve foster alumni were identified and both staff and foster alumni students at the sites were interviewed, for a total of 10 students and 4 staff members. Participant selection utilized both purposive and convenience sampling methods. The study focused on three themes relevant to college participation which were identified based upon the review of the literature: Academic preparedness, psycho-social factors, and meeting basic needs. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim; staff interviews served as both triangulation of the student data as well as a source of additional information on college services to foster alumni. Responses were analyzed for direct responses to interview questions as well as for emerging themes. In addition, case records (e.g., transcripts) were reviewed as an additional method of data triangulation. Findings of the study were reported through individual case summaries in manuscript two as well as cross-case analysis in both manuscripts. While the participants in this study had high rates of high school completion and many had shown signs of "early promise" for academic achievement, all needed pre-college level course remediation in at least one area. A majority of participants indicated having felt depressed, yet only one participant had a diagnosis of depression; most seemed to consider some level of depression to be a natural outcome in their situation. Indications of resilience and internal locus of control were evident. Many continued to struggle to meet basic needs while in college, and eight of the ten student participants reported having experienced periods of homelessness since leaving foster care. Based upon the findings of this study, foster alumni share certain characteristics with other first-generation students, yet their needs in particular areas necessitate additional on-campus services and/or stronger connections with community partners. Considerations for enhancing support services in the community and technical colleges in seven different areas are given, including designating staff contacts, building community partnerships to support housing, arranging for priority registration and financial aid processing to avoid enrollment gaps, and providing optional (not mandatory) mentoring relationships.

Download or read book Our Stories un told written by Mauriell H. Amechi and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Children and youth who occupy this nation's foster care system are considered one of the most educationally underserved populations in both K-12 and higher education (GAO, 2016). While previous research (e.g., Courtney et al., 2011) emphasizes their deficits in the education pipeline, we are just beginning to understand the experiences of academically successful foster youth. Given the need to improve educational outcomes for underrepresented populations, this critical qualitative study explored how 12 foster care alumni cultivated postsecondary goals, and leveraged multiple forms of capital to navigate the complexities of the enrollment process at selective institutions. Informed by two asset-based theories, Yosso's (2005) community cultural wealth framework and Harper's (2012) Anti-Deficit Achievement Framework, I explored two central research questions: How were aspirations for postsecondary education cultivated by high-achieving foster care alumni currently enrolled in college? Also, how do foster care alumni employ cultural wealth to enhance their access to selective four-year institutions? This study found that both internal and external influences were catalysts for participants' postsecondary aspirations. Despite enduring significant disadvantages and unforeseen obstacles in the educational system, self-reports from respondents reflected resiliency and optimism for the future. Academically successful foster youth acquired essential support from institutional agents in schools and social services agencies. Respondents shared several examples of how significant others-including social workers, elementary and secondary school teachers, guidance counselors, and extended family members,-served as sources of inspiration, guidance, emotional support, and stability during pivotal moments in the educational system. Notwithstanding their status as first-generation students, they achieved college admission by employing at least five distinct categories of capital, namely, aspirational, social, resistant, familial and navigational. The final chapter includes implications for policy, research, and theory with an emphasis on enhancing enrollment and persistence.

Download or read book From Foster Care to Baccalaureate and Beyond written by Samuel Jennings Greer and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Children in America's foster care system represent one of the nation's most vulnerable populations of students. The life outcomes of these children can be tragic, with disproportionate numbers experiencing prison, homelessness, non-marital parenthood, and other poor life outcomes. Many of these children have suffered trauma before and after they were placed in care, and many have special medical, emotional, and social needs. Of all the difficulties that foster children experience, however, low academic achievement may have the most detrimental consequences for their futures. The purpose of this study is to explore the commonalities of the 2-3% of former foster children who graduate from college despite the odds against them. By delving into the experiences of this population, this study hopes to contribute to the research by improving our understanding of academically successful foster care alumni, particularly by studying the social and educational support systems that abetted the success. Because a majority of foster care alumni remain on some form of public assistance throughout the course of their lives, any reduction of that number would be a step in the right direction. By studying the tiny minority that successfully graduates from college, we can gain insight into how this group managed to overcome the barriers that prevented the other 97% of this group from graduating from college. The findings could have implications ranging from K-12 educational support systems in and out of schools, higher education policy decisions, and foster care program design.

Download or read book A Million Piece Jigsaw Puzzle written by and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A college education offers people social and economic benefits, yet youth from foster care backgrounds are less likely than their peers to attain a college education, which places this already vulnerable population at higher risk for a lifetime of living on the margins of society. Foster alumni face multiple obstacles to accessing and persisting in higher education. To facilitate and support the success of this frequently overlooked population, professionals in higher education need to understand these obstacles. Little is known about the experiences of youth with foster care backgrounds as they transition into and through higher education. Although existing research has reported the academic, health, and social effects of having been in foster care, little is known about why foster alumni do not persist in higher education. This study used student-development theory, specifically Schlossberg's transition theory, Tinto's theory of student departure, and Bourdieu's work on social and cultural capital to provide a conceptual framework through which to view the lived experiences of youth with foster care backgrounds. Because, for many youths with foster care backgrounds, the pathway to the baccalaureate degree is through a community college, this study examined and explored the transition experiences of foster alumni about to begin or currently enrolled at an Oregon Community College. The study explored the factors that challenge and facilitate foster alumni persistence towards the attainment of a college degree.

Download or read book The Impact of Foster Care on Pursuit of Higher Education written by Tiffany Barker and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau, the foster care population currently includes nearly 400,000 children (2013). In 2012, in California alone, over 43,000 students in grades K-12 were in foster care. Research has shown students in every type of placement performed far worse than their non-foster care peers. Furthermore, in high school, students in foster care had the highest dropout rates and the lowest graduations than any other students (Wiegmann et.al 2014). This academic achievement gap demonstrates foster youth are at an extreme disadvantage compared to their counterparts who never experience foster care. If foster youth perform behind their peers in primary school, this achievement gap is likely to follow them on their path to higher education. Other researchers have found only 20% of former foster youth who meet college entrance requirements actually go to college (Unrau et al. 2012) and less than six percent of former foster youth have a college education (Fessler 2010). These facts reveal foster care negatively impacts students' academic performance and their ability to receive higher education. The present study looks at former foster youth who have graduated from high school and have successfully transitioned into higher education. In-depth interviews with ten former foster youth currently enrolled in a California State University were conducted in order to answer the following research question, "How have former foster youth currently enrolled in college been prepared and challenged on their path to higher education?" The interviews were analyzed and coded. Four themes emerged from the data: 1. Choosing to Take the Road towards Higher Education, 2. Educational Resources and Support Networks, 3. Finding Support and Strength, and 4. Personal Motivation and Self-Reliance. Personal backgrounds, religious beliefs, and past experiences from student's macrosystems and chronosystems motivated them to pursue higher education. Various support networks, financial assistance, and education resources associated with their exosystem helped prepare students for the academic barriers they would encounter on their path to conquering their academic goals. Lastly, assistance and support from family, friends, teachers, and other microsystems as well as their own personal motivation and self-reliance enabled their dreams of going to college to become a reality. Using the Bioecological Systems theory, this research revealed how different ecological systems have both negatively and positively affected interviewees' abilities to become successful college students.

Download or read book Empowerment of Youth in Foster Care written by Ewa U. Lavin and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 119 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Outcome research has shown that upon aging out of the foster care system, many young adults struggle during their transition to independence. Youth who age out are less likely than their peers in the general population to achieve academic success, including high school graduation and post-secondary education. These youth are more likely to be unemployed or work at jobs that do not provide them with financial security. They are more likely than their peers to experience violence, victimization, homelessness or unstable housing, mental illness, and other poor health outcomes. They are also at an increased risk for incarceration, substance abuse, and early parenthood; and they are more likely to lose their children to the foster care system. The current study seeks to examine experiences foster care alumni identify as empowering and promoting resilience. By identifying elements that contributed to building self-sufficiency and positive outcomes, this research attempts to inform practitioners, policy makers, and other stakeholders as they attempt to move towards best practices of effective service delivery. Data were collected by conducting semi-structured interviews with four foster care alumni who were in care in New Jersey. Transcribed interview data was analyzed utilizing McCracken's "grounded theory" as a guide. Data was reduced to smaller units for identification of common, interrelated themes. These themes and patterns were subjected to a process of analysis in an attempt to inform conclusions. Participants credit their positive outcomes, post transition, to several factors, which include the impact of relationships and mentoring, as well as other intrinsic and environmental factors. Study participants offered several recommendations for policy and program reform. The relationship of findings to literature, limitations and implications of the current study for practice and research are discussed.

Download or read book Foster Youth in Higher Education written by Alexandra S. Hattick and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: Foster youth face barriers unmatched by their non-foster peers, particularly in the arena of academic achievement. Although a majority (84%) of foster youth report aspirations of attending higher education, only 5% graduate by age 22 or 23, compared to non-foster youth in the same age group, who graduate at a rate of 30% (Courtney et al., 2010; Courtney, Terao, & Bost, 2004). The current study describes factors from the perspective of 13 foster care alumni that supported them in the process of gaining acceptance to college and graduating. Supportive factors and resilience theories provided the framework that guided the research. Utilizing a grounded theory approach, foster care alumni who completed at least a 2- or 4-year degree were interviewed. Five common themes were identified in narratives of these individuals: exposure to validating environments, availability of pre-college informational and appraisal supports, motivating factors, and the presence of expectation.

Download or read book Whee Support You Creating Online Supports for Students who are Foster Care Alumni written by Amelia L. Schlott and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Students who age out of the foster care system may no longer be eligible for federal and state support services and immediately become responsible for maintaining their wellbeing. This loss is multiplied as students lose their support system at a time of transition and change. The multiple transitional challenges, coupled with past traumas, position Foster Care Alumni (FCA) as a highly vulnerable group in society. While most FCA students aspire to continue their education at the secondary level, only 3% will earn a bachelor’s degree. The purpose of this project was to increase the outcomes of FCA students at Western Carolina University (WCU) by creating online supports to assist with degree completion. At WCU, the context for this disquisition (dissertation in practice), FCA students are not identified as a unique population at the university level, making it difficult for the university to be proactive in providing FCA students with the resources they need. While other universities have created dedicated support offices to assist the FCA population students, that was not possible with the present level of staff and financial resources at WCU. Using available resources (committed personnel and an on-line repository of resources and support), a design team attempted to provide support to FCA in an effort to improve their education-related outcomes. The repository was located on a comprehensive website containing locations and types of resources unique to the FCA population. To examine its effectiveness, students were asked to self-identify their FCA status to participate in the project. Participants were surveyed about their awareness and use of resources at the beginning and end of the project. Analyses of survey data, website analytics, and personal interviews were performed to determine the intervention's success during the fall 2020 semester. Findings suggested that online resources alone do not provide adequate support for the FCA population and should be used as supplemental support to a dedicated FCA support staff position.

Download or read book Foster Youth written by Michelle Louise Dean and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inconsistencies in the educational system and difficult life conditions make foster youth less likely than their peers in the general population to attend college and obtain a degree. Studies have estimated that between 2%-11% of all foster youth in the United States graduate with a four-year degree (Casey Family Programs, 2010; Pecora, 2012; Wolanin, 2005) compared to 33% of the general population (Ryan & Bauman, 2016). This research illustrates factors that assist former foster youth on their pathway to higher education. In doing so, the research uncovers important themes that contribute knowledge to the literature on higher education for marginalized populations, more specifically foster youth. The purpose of this research is to provide individuals working with foster youth information that can be used to assist students as they move into and through higher education. The study is based on 14 semi-structured interviews with students in the Guardian Scholars Program (GSP) at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS) and University of California, Davis (UCD), the Guardian Professions Program (GPP) at UC Davis, and the three program directors from each campus program. The research utilizes the concept of resiliency as a framework to analyze the findings. This study found that all 14 students interviewed shared two factors: resiliency, as well as having had an important supportive relationship with an adult who helped them further their education. Findings also show the biological family plays a large role in the students’ motivation to pursue education, as they either want to make them proud or use their family’s situation as motivation to succeed. The majority of students find campus support programs contribute to their success in higher education. Students interviewed for this study felt graduate school seemed more attainable once they had knowledge of support services for alumni of care students who wish to pursue graduate school. Participants recommend providing outreach about support services at college campuses to foster youth as early as middle school and no later than high school to create higher expectations and provide students with knowledge of their options beyond high school. Recommendations include extending the age limit of support programs and grants, provide more training to administration in educational institutions about foster youth students,include foster youth and their unique needs into training programs for future teachers, and look for ways to increase students’ resiliency.

Download or read book Paving Pathways written by Jennifer Jane Farinella and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The dissertation sought to provide insight to the unique experiences of foster care alumni in graduate education pursuits. For many, higher education serves to increase opportunities in the workforce and higher lifetime earnings; as the level of degree attainment is higher, the availability of benefits often increases. Frequently, these opportunities are more readily afforded to members predisposed to access and achievement in postsecondary experiences and remain elusive for many members identifying as vulnerable. A vulnerable population of interest is foster care alumni or those individuals with dependency system experiences as a result of abuse, neglect, or trauma. Previous research indicated foster care alumni often espouse desires to attain higher education at the same proportion as their nonfoster care peers; however, the reality is few gain access and fewer attain a degree. In Florida, current policies could assist in continued support, including application toward advanced degrees, for eligible foster care alumni; however, lack of awareness and guidance can result in unused assistance. Therefore, this study seeks first to understand the experiences of foster care alumni who attempted, pursued, or attained an advanced degree. Individual interviews with a small sample were conducted and analyzed for common themes in capturing the phenomenon of graduate education pursuits by individuals with background experiences in the foster care system. Findings help to generate a base understanding of these experiences through the voice of participants, as little is known at the undergraduate level, and less at the graduate level.