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There are currently about 500,000 children in foster care across the country. Each year, over 20,000 youth, deemed legal adults at age 18, 'age out' of the foster care system. Statistics show that in some states, over half of this number is African American and Latina/o. Nationally, only 40% to 50% of foster youth graduate from high school. Of those, less than 2% graduate from college. Due to a combination of lack of support and the high cost to pursue an education, only 10% will actually attend college. Of the 10% who go to college, a staggering 3% will actually graduate and receive college degrees. 38% of the nation’s homeless population is former foster children. Based on the United States Government Accountability Office GAO report, African American Children in Foster Care, a significantly greater proportion of African American children are in foster care than children of other races and ethnicities. It also follows that African American youth represent the largest number aging out of the foster care system annually. Perhaps no group is in greater need of specialized learning opportunities than African American males living in foster care. Many have no permanent family or support network to assist them and only limited assistance is available from the states to support their transition to independence. Most foster youth exiting the system have limited education, few basic skills and no role models or adult mentors. Across the state of California, from 1992-2000, 54% of all former foster youth enrolled at a community college; however, fewer than 2% of these students completed a certificate program, received a degree, or transferred to a four-year college. This startling figure contrasts sharply with the 37% of community college students nationwide who complete a degree and the 19% who transfer to a four-year institution. As part of its mission to provide educational access to residents of all ethnic, social, and economic backgrounds, community colleges have demonstrated that we can best serve this targeted population. The National Council on Black American Affairs is taking the lead in establishing an initiative that will have community colleges across the country make a special effort to support this population on their campuses. NCBAA would like to build a coalition of community colleges that have or are initiating post secondary services for youth in foster care. Young adults who make it to post secondary programs after leaving foster care are frequently challenged by many personal, academic, and financial barriers that impede their progress and college success, according to John Emerson, senior manager of education for Casey Family Programs. In the recent article, From Foster Care to College in the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators' (NASPA) Leadership Exchange, Emerson underscores the vital impact that post secondary personnel can have on the lives of foster care youth and is encouraged by the progress being made by the growing number of programs spearheaded by community and four year colleges. Emerson points out that if foster youth attended post secondary education at the same rate as their peers, there would be an additional 100,000 additional foster youth attending college. There has been success in making more people aware of this undeserved population but there is still much to be done. The Chafee Grant provides financial assistance to foster youth and former foster youth to use for college or vocational training up to $ 5,000 per year. Access and information about this unique and vital post secondary education and training grant must be given to foster youth and caregivers while they are still in high school. Many support services that are available are often unknown to them. The National Council on Black American Affairs would like to continue to work with Casey Family Programs and other similar organizations to increase access to these students, who first need to be recruited and then given information, resources, and positive champions to help them along the way to reaching their educational goals. In California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Texas, Tennessee and Florida, a number of community colleges are making special efforts to support former foster youth. Many of these programs are modeled after the Guardian Scholars Program launched at Cal State Fullerton in 1997. City College of San Francisco’s Guardian Scholars Program has one of the largest programs in the state of California, providing comprehensive and supportive services to over 160 former foster youth. While it is important that each program be designed to meet the specific needs of its campus, there is a growing consensus about the importance of providing certain services to support former foster youth students. According to California Youth Connection (CYC), “When foster youth hear that a college offers a ‘Guardian Scholars’ type program, they often expect that the campus offers a key combination of comprehensive services.” Across the country, innovative efforts by the Jim Casey Youth Initiative, Casey Family Programs, Walter S. Johnson Foundation,The Orangewood Foundation, The California Community College Chancellor’s Office’s Foster Youth Success Initiative, Black Women Organized for Political Action’s (BWOPA) Training Institute for Leadership Enrichment (TILE), and the Pottruck Foundation, are underway to form partnerships to develop coordinated support programs for former foster youth. In order to best serve the ever-increasing numbers of emancipated foster youth in colleges, some colleges embarked on a planning process that uses the Honoring Emancipated Youth (HEY) “Essential Elements of On Campus Support Programs for Former Foster Youth” as a guide to:
NCBAA has fully embraced and endorses this initiative and would welcome the opportunity to work collaboratively to get more member institutions involved in providing more opportunities for emancipated foster your to become successful. Center for Social Services Research, University of California, Berkeley, “Youth Emancipating from Foster Care in California: Findings Using Linked Administrative Data,” May 2002. National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education
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