RESULTSANDDISCUSSION1

ResultsandDiscussionofFormerFosterCareYouth
KristynHernandez,AudreyHale,KellyJohnson,TaylorRilling
AzusaPacificUniversity

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION2

Results
Throughoutthisstudyemergedthreemainthemes.Asformerfostercarestudentsspoke
abouttheirexperiencesthefollowingthemesdeveloped:challengesofformerfostercareyouth,
supportinhighereducation,andtheneedforbetterprogramming.
ChallengesofFormerFosterCareYouth
Onethemethatcameupthemostthroughinterviewswithformerfostercarestudentsis
thechallengethattheyfaceasaresultofbeinginthesystem.Growingupinthefostercare
systemcomeswithmanychallengesincludingaroughhomelifeandnotalwaysfittingin.One
participant,Juan,explainedwhatitwaslikeafterhewasadoptedbyhisfostercareparents:
...butgrowinguptherewasalotofjealousybecausenumberone,yourea
fosterkid[...]Therewasalotofjealousyandtensioninthehomebecause
certainthingsneededtobepaidattentionaboutme.SoIthinkIexperienceda
lotofhurtandalotofangerbecause[Ididntunderstand]whyit[had]tobethis
way.
EventhoughJuanwasadoptedandhadfamilialsupport,hewentthroughchallengeswith
hisadoptedfamily.Thesechallengesresultedinhurtandangerthatruledmostofhisactions.All
oftheparticipantsdescribedtheirexperiencesinfostercareinsimilarwayswheretheywere
hurt,angry,and/ortreatednegativelybyafamilytheystayedwith.
However,regardlessoftheirfostercareexperiencemostoftheparticipantssharedthat
theygreatlyappreciatededucationbecausetheysawitasawaytoforgettheirhomelife.A
challengetothisisthatmostfostercareyoutharenotencouragedtopursuehighereducation.In
fact,mostofthemaretoldtheywillnotbeabletodowellinschool.Forexample,Jessicasaid,

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION3

EducationwasalwaysimportanttomeandnowImhereandIthinkI
havealotofprivilegebecauseofpositivereinforcementthatnoteveryone
has.Itwasfromnobodythatwasinthefostersystemitwasallexternal.
[...]EverybodyinthesystemwaslikejusttakethebareminimumsandI
dontthinkyoucanhandletheseextraclasses.Itsjustgottobedifficult
foryou.
Ahugechallengeoffostercareyouthisthefostercaresystemitself.Manyyouthare
neverencouragedineducationandthereforewillautomaticallyloseoutbecausenooneinthe
fostercaresystemwillhelpthemgettowheretheywanttogo.
Also,ifyouthfromfostercaredomakeittocollegetheyarecompletelyoutontheir
own.Whentheyturn18thereareemancipatedfromthefostercaresystem.Steveexplainedit
inthisway,SoImovedtocollegeandthatsit.SonowImoutofthefostercaresystem.And
thatmeansthatafterthat,thereisnowhereelsetogovirtually.Youcantgoback.Theydont
haveaplaceforyou.Steveandmanyotherformerfostercarestudents,oncetheyentercollege,
arecompletelyontheirown.Mostcannotasktheirfamiliesforhelpbecausetheyare,more
timesthannot,livingaworkingorlowerclasslife.Thismeansthateverythingaformerfoster
carestudentdoesisonhisorherown,includinganythingtodowithfinances.Stevenotedthe
followingonhisfinancialsituationuponenteringcollege:
Ialsohadalackofawarenesswhenitcametofinancialaid.Ididntsubmitmy
FAFSAontimeandIdidntreceiveaCALgrant,andIknowIwas100%
eligible.Iwasnotawareofmanyfinancialaidthingsasfarasdeadlinesand

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION4

thingslikethat.Thetoughthingisthatyoudontknowwhattoask.Youdont
knowwhatyoudontknow.
Formerfosteryouthfacethechallengeofreceivingfinancialaidincollege.Mostofthe
timetheyareeligibletoreceiveit,however,theydonotknowhowtogoaboutdoingit.Juan
alsosharedasimilarchallengewithfinancesasaformerfostercareyouth:
Oh,ourstruggleisreal!Butmyparentsgot$3,500amonthwhentheyadopted
mefrombeingmyfosterparents.Thatsallmymoney.Thatsalotperkid.IfI
weretosayyoulegallyowemethatmoney,thatsalmost$800,000.Youcould
easilypayformytuition.IshouldnotbestrugglingthewayIamstruggling.
Moreoftenthannot,formerfostercareyouthwhowanttogotocollegedonotknow
exactlyhowtogetthere.Partofthisisbecausemostofthemarefirstgenerationstudents.
Becausetheyhadfamilyissuesandhadtobeinfostercareforawhile,thesestudentsfacethe
challengeofgoingthroughcollegealone.Theyusuallyhavenohelpandtheirexperiencesin
fostercarecoupledwithbeingafirstgenerationstudentplacesthematadisadvantagebefore
theyevenbeginapplyingtocollege.
AparticipantnamedPhoebeexplainedhertransitiontocollegeasshewentthroughit
virtuallyalone:
IdidntreallyknowhowtoreallytalkaboutwhatwashappeningtomeorI
didntreallyknowhowtotalkaboutwhatwashappeningtometosomebody
becauseImtheonlyonegoingthroughthis.AndIcouldntrelatetoanybody.
Thatwasthehugething.Ididntrealizebecausewedidnthaveahugesupport
system.[...]Itsjustme.Itsalwaysgoingtobejustme.[...]Transitionwas

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION5

really,really,reallydifficult.MuchmoredifficultthancomingintofostercareI
believe.
Overall,studentswhowereinthefostercaresystemexperiencemanychallengesasthey
trytogothroughlifeaftertheyareinthefostercaresystem.Manyofthesechallengesarethere
becauseofanunstablefamilylifeandlittletonosupportinthesystemastheyouthtryto
navigatethemselvesintocollege.
SupportinHigherEducation
Mostoftheparticipantsinthisstudysharedabouttheirsupportsystemwhentheyentered
college.Themajorityofthemsaidthatthebeginningofcollegewasdifficultintermsof
support,however,therewerestaffandfacultythatsupportedthemalongtheway.Phoebe
shared:
[MyResidenceLifeDirectorandhisfamily]kindoftookmeundertheirwing
withoutblatantlybeinglike,Ohbecauseyougrewupin[fostercare],Im
goingtotakeyouin.Theynevertreatedmeanydifferentandtheytreatedme
likeafriend.Theytreatedmelikeahumanbeinginsteadofbeinglike,Were
goingtotakeyouinbecausewefeelbadforyouorsomething.
AnotherstudentnamedKimdescribedasimilarscenariowithfacultyonhercampus:
Therehasbeenalotofsupportfrommyprofessors,butIhaventbeenvery
openaboutmybackground.AndthenbecauseImpartofthefosteryouth
scholarshiptheresbeendifferentadvisorsthathaveoverseenus,butthats
neverbeenconsistent.SoIveneverreallyhadthatconsistency.

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION6

Thisshowsthatthoughmanyformerfostercarestudentsdonothavethesupportofa
familyorhomelife,theycanfindsupportthroughfacultyandstaffattheirinstitution.Thiskind
ofsupportisimportantforstudentsuccessespeciallywhenthatstudentdoesnothavealotof
supportoutsidetheinstitution.AnotherexampleofpositivesupportwassharedbyMonica:
[Mysportsteamis]reallycloseknit.Andeveryone,andespeciallythenewgirls
wereallgettingtoknoweachotherreallywellandIfeellikeitsalittlefamily
here.Itsnicehavingthemtherewhenevermyfamilysnotveryclose
Ontheotherhand,alloftheparticipantsspokeofthelackofsupporttheyexperiencedat
theirinstitution.Whetherthislackofsupportwassolelyatthebeginningoftheircollege
experienceorstayedthroughout,allofthemfacedit.Steveexplainedhislackofsupportby
saying,OnethingformeisifIdidnthavesupportoutsideofmyfosterhome,Iwouldnothave
anywheretostayduringWinterBreakandalsoSummerBreak.Thosetimesarehuge.
Emotionalandfinancialsupportarenotthewaysinwhichformerfostercarestudentsarelacking
support.Theyalsoneedsupportinaphysicalsense.AsSteveexplained,moststudentswho
wereinfostercare,becausetheyareemancipatedfromthesystem,donotusuallyhaveaplaceto
gooverschoolbreaks.Theyneedthephysicalsupportofahomethatnotmanyinstitutionsare
willingtoprovide.
Supportataninstitutionisalsoimportantforformerfostercarestudentstohave.Jessica
spokealotaboutconsistencyandhavingstafftheretosupportherandotherformerfostercare
studentsthroughouttheircollegeexperience:
Ifwehadaplacewhere[theuniversity]couldrefermeto,evenif
someonedidntunderstandme,butwe[would]havesomebodyelseonthis

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION7

campuswhocanhelpyouthrough[college].Insteadofretellingourstoriesall
thetime,becausethatsadisadvantageourstoriesareexhausting.
Ultimately,formerfostercarestudentsneeduniquesupportwhileincollege.
Mostofthetimetheydonotalwaysreceivetheadequateamountofsupporttheyneed.
Somestudentsdo,butothersdonot.Thereisstillalargeneedatinstitutionsofhigher
educationtoprovidesupporttostudentswhowereinthefostercaresystem.
Programming
Qualityprogrammingprovidesawaytowalkalongsidestudentsandadvocatefortheir
needs.Itallowsanopportunitytoempowerthemandguidethemtowardsresources.Many
publicuniversitieshavethrivingprogramssetinplacetosupportformerfosteryouth.Thelast
themethatwasevidentineveryinterviewwastheneedforbetterprogrammingtosupport
formerfosteryouthinsmallprivate,Christianuniversities.
Thefirstthingthatwasmadeclearwasthatthestudentswouldlikeaknowledgeable
liaisontosupportthem.Inthisstudy,allnineparticipantsvoicedtheirconcernsforthelackofa
pointpersontoturnto.Theyseethevalueinhavingsomeonewhoistrainedtoprovide
resourcesforthem.Steveexplainedthetypeofinformationthatwouldbehelpful:Trainingon
thesimplethings.Ithinkthesimplethingswerethemosttimeconsumingforme.The
participantsdesiresomeonewhounderstandshowtheuniversityfunctionsandcanhelpthem
navigatetheircollegejourney.Stevealsowentontosaydescribesomeofthethingstheliaison
cando:
IhadnoideawhattheRegistrarwas,wheretheFinancialAidofficewas,and
thingslikethat.Ithinkaliaisonshouldknowwhatquestionstoask.Know

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION8

wheretodirectusasstudentswhoareunfamiliarwiththissystem.Teachus
whotospeakwithandwheretogo.
AsaChristianuniversity,itisourresponsibilitytocareforthisoftenunseenpopulation.Jessica
sharedhowshewasfrustratedthatthereisnotalreadyaprograminplacetohelpeaseher
transition:
AndhowcanwecallourselvesChristiansasauniversityifwearenotreaching
outtotheorphansandthewidows?I,bigpicture,wouldliketoseeanofficeon
campusdedicatedtoformerfosteryouthandthosewhoexperiencedifferent
thannormativetypesofguardianshipwithintheirhomes.

AcommentfromPhoebeshowsthetypeofliaisonthatmanyoftheparticipantsarelookingfor:
Ithinkitwouldhonestlyhelpifthepersonwhowasleading[thisprogram]was
doingresearchinthefostercaresystem,waspassionateaboutit,orcamefrom
it.Becausewhenyouareabletorelate,yougetit.Yougetthestruggle.You
maynotlookthesame,butyougetit.Thatwouldbeveryhelpful!
Thisliaisonwouldprovideholisticsupportfortheseformerfosteryouthastheytransitioninand
throughcollege.Thiswouldhelptofosterasafespacewherethesestudentsfeelwelcomed,
heard,andvalued.
Aqualityprogramtosupportformerfosteryouthwouldalsoincludeasafespacewitha
communityorientedatmosphere.Manyparticipantswanttousetheirstorytonowcreatea
programwhereotherstudentscanbenefit.Juanshareshisperspectiveonwhyacommunityisso
vital:

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION9

Wherecanwegrow?Whatcanwedoasacommunity?Whatcanwetakefrom
whateachotherhassharedanduseit?Andhowcanwepourintoothersand
beatthesystem?Iwillmakethatmylifegoal.Ithinkthatcomingfrom[foster
care],nomatterhowmuchwethinkitsourindividual,wehavethatmentalityof
beinginthecommunity.Soonceyougetridofthatangerofbeingafosterkidit
becomeslessaboutmeagainstyouandmoreaboutlikeJordansmybrother
becausewehadasimilar[experience].Likegivingbacktothatcommunity
becauseitisourowncommunity.
Thissafespacewouldfacilitatethisfamilylikecommunityamongstthestudentsthemselves.It
wouldempowerthemtoprovidesupportforeachother.Kimbelievesthatacommunityofother
studentsfromthefostercaresystemcangreatlyinfluenceeachother:
Havingacommunityofpeoplefromasimilarbackgroundwouldbegreat.I
feellikewewentthrougheverythingwewentthroughtogiveback.Anditsnot
tosaylike,lookatmeImadeit.ItslikewoahImadeitandyoucantoo.
Hereshow.IcanhelpyouIcanwalkwithyou.
Thisideaofasafespaceforformerfosteryouthtogatherwasveryappealingtomany
applicants.Forinstance,Monicashared:
Ithinkjustlikeaplacewherepeoplecancometogether.Iwouldliketoknow
thattheresasafeplaceiftheyneedtotalkaboutanything,orjustknowingthat
otherpeoplehavegonethroughwhatyouvegonethrough.Justthatimmediate
connectionwithotherpeopleat[thisinstitution].Emphasizingthefactthatwe

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION10

areafamily.Becauseeventhoughwenevermetbefore,wecameherelikewe
werefamilybecauseofourexperiences.
Thistypeofsupportwouldcreateafamilylikeenvironmentforstudentsandaplacewherethey
belong.Theparticipantsalsohadotherideasabouthowtocreateaplaceforbelongingwhilein
college.
Thelastsharedthemeamongtheparticipantswasalongingforthesupportofalocal
family.Accesstoawelcomingandwarmfamilywouldsetthisprogramapartfrommanyother
ones.Alexiswishedthatshecouldhavetakenadvantageofthesupportofafamilyduringher
undergraduatejourney:
Havingadultsthatyoucanlookatasanexampleoramodeltoshapeyour
perspectiveandbehavior.Beinginthefamilysettingisimportantandmaking
thesesocialconnectionsareveryimportant.[...]Itwouldhavebeenso
beneficialtomebeingabletobeinafamilyandbeingabletohavelasting
relationships.PeoplethatIcouldgobacktoandthankforhelpingmethrough
thattime.ItwouldbebecauseofthemthatIamthepersonthatIamtoday.
Phoebealsoagreedthatthesupportofafamilywouldhavegreatlyimpactedhercollege
experience:
Duringthesummertimeandschoolbreaks,thereisnoplaceformetogoifI
cantliveoncampus.Thosetimesarehuge!Summertimeisrealnotknowing
whereyouwillliveforthosemonthscanbestressful.Iwouldlovetobeableto
makegreatrelationshipswithafamilyandlearnfromthem.

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION11

Thistypeofsupportfromalocalfamilywouldcreateaplaceforstudentstobelong,helpthem
withhousingduringbreaks,andallowanopportunitytocreateareciprocalrelationshipthatwill
makeadifference.
Discussion
Theresultsofthisstudyprovidedusefulinformationforstudentaffairsprofessionalsto
begintomakechangestobenefitstudents.Thegoalsofthisstudywereaccomplishedas
informationwasgainedaboutthechallengesfacedbyformerfosteryouthinthecampusclimate,
thelackofsupportmanystudentsexperienceinthosechallenges,andlastlytheelementsstudent
wishtoseeincampusprogramming.Eachofthestudysfindingscorrelateddirectlywiththe
informationintheliterature.
Thefirstthemewhichemergedfromtheliteraturewasthatofbarriersandhowthis
populationofstudentsovercomesagreatdealtobecomesuccessfulincollege.Theinterviews
openedtheeyesoftheresearcherstothewidearrayofuniquebarriersthatthispopulationof
studentsarefacing.JustasRosalind(2012)noted,Thedifferencebetweenformeryouthincare
andotherstudentsisthattheverysystemthatassumedtheroleofparentisnolongeravailableto
them,andfewhaveanytypeofsafetynet(p.31).Thestudentswhowereinterviewedspoke
widelyabouttheirlackofpreparationforcollege.Further,Yeager(2001)someofthespecific
barrierswhichthesestudentsmightbefacing:Theseincludedifficultygraduatingfromhigh
school,gainingadmittancetocollege,homelessness,pregnancy,andlackofmedicalcare(p.
74).Itbecameveryclearthatformerfosteryouthhaveincrediblebarriersbuiltupbeforethem
toovercomeontheirwaytobeingsuccessfulcollegestudents.

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION12

Thesecondthemewhichcameoutoftheliteraturewasthatofsupportservices.The
studywasimprovedbyhearingaboutsomeoftheuniqueprogramsthatuniversitieshaveputin
placetosupportthesestudents.Thatbeingsaid,thereisanoveralllackofsupportforthis
populationastheytransitionintocollegeandgothroughtheircollegeyears.Andom(2007)
madeacommentabouttheexpectationswhichcollegesputonthesestudentsbysaying,The
expectationsforfosteryouthtobefullyfunctioningadultsat18isunrealistic.Manyofthe
studentsspokeintotheirlackofpreparationandalsotheirlackofsupportintheirbasicneeds
suchasfinancialsupportsetup.Further,Fried(2008)notedtheneedforuniqueandpersonalized
servicesforthesestudentsbynoting,Thesestudentsoftenpresentuniqueandchallenginglife
experiencesthatrequireanetworkofcoordinatedsupportservicesandadvocacy.Thestudy
foundthattheneedsofthesestudentssimplywerenotbeingmetbythesupportserviceswhich
universitieshadtooffer.
Thethirdandfinalthemetobefoundintheliteraturewasrelatedtothetransitionand
overallexperienceofthesestudentsincollege.Theliteraturebroughttolightthedifficultythat
thesestudentsfaceinevengettingtocollege.Further,researchonlyaddedtothelistofbarriers
andstrugglesthatthesestudentsfacewhiletransitioningtocollege.Equally,mostofthestudents
whowereinterviewedhaduniqueexperiencesrelatedtotheirtransition.Hines(2005)
commentedonthistransitionbysaying,Leavingadolescenceandtakingonadultrolesisa
criticaltransitionforallyouth(p.381).Theresearchersbecameveryawareofthedifficulties
whichcamewithtransitioningintocollegeasaformerfosteryouthasaresultofthese
interviews.Finally,Rosalind(2012)madeanoteaboutthefostercaresystembysaying,The
fostercaresystemdoesnotpreparetransitioningyouthadequatelyforindependentliving,

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION13

includingaccesstoandreadinessforhighereducation(p.1174).Throughtheinterviews,many
ofthestudentsnotedtheirfrustrationwiththefostercaresystemandcommentedontheirlackof
preparationbecauseofthebrokensystemwhichisinplace.
Theparallelsbetweenthisstudyandthethemesfoundintheliteraturearesignificant
becauseitprovesthatschoolsarestilllackingthesupportandresourcesthatformerfosteryouth
need.Notonlythat,butitprovesthelegitimacyoftheneedsexpressedbythisstudys
participants.Theirstrugglesandchallengesalignedwiththoseintheresearch,indicatingthat
theseproblemsareoccurringconsistentlyamongformerfosteryouth,andtherefore,areworth
addressing.Thoughthisparticularstudentpopulationmayberepresentedbyonlyasmall
percentageonsomecollegecampuses,theirneedsarerealasistheirdesiretosucceedinhigher
education.Thedatafromthisstudysupportsthatformerfosteryouthbeginsatadisadvantage
whenenteringthecollegesystem.Collegesmustpayattentiontothesestudents,expandtheir
physical,financial,andhumanresourcestoassistthesestudents.
Limitations
Thoughwethoughtthisstudytobeasuccessfulone,therewereafewitemsthat
inhibitedourresearchprocesses.Onelimitationisthatourstudentscamefromtwoseparate
universities.Itcouldbeperceivedasaweaknessbecauseinitiallywewantedtofocusonthe
experiencesofstudentsatoneschool.Wehopedthatinfocusingononeschoolwewouldbe
abletolookatthatcampusesclimateforformerfosteryouth,evaluateourresults,andcreatively
thinkofprogrammingsolutionsforthatuniversity.Thereisanbenefittohavingstudent
perspectivesoftwouniversities,however.Ourdataismorereliablebecausewefoundthat
studentstoriessharedcommonthemesacrossbothuniversities.

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION14

Anotherlimittoourstudyisthatweusedthesnowballmethodforfindingparticipants.
Becausewearestudentresearchers,wehadsometroubleaccessingstudentsthroughlarge
networksatvariousschools.Wechosetoutilizeourownnetworkstofindourformerfoster
youth.Thisservedasalimitationtoourstudybecauseourpoolofpotentialparticipantswas
fairlysmall,whereasemailingthroughadatabasewouldreachmanymorestudentsquickly.