Running head: TRANSITION FROM FOSTER CARE TO COLLEGE

Issues Paper and Presentation

Transition from Foster Care to College

Jill VanOrder

HESA-695

Western Carolina University

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Growing up in foster care can prove to be very challenging for young people for many

different reasons. One of these challenges is the transition to college from foster care. In recent

years I have become quite aware of this student population, their needs and some of the barriers

to college that exist for them. These barriers result in very few of them actually completing

college and living independent and successful lives. There is a lack in support programs for this

student population at the college level. It is my intent to define some of the specific barriers and

issues that make the transition to college harder for students from foster care. In addition, I will

discuss how adding transitional support initiatives for these students can provide hope of

improving academic success and how this issue is relevant to student affairs professionals.

Literature Review

First, it is important to understand the breadth of the issue by increasing awareness and

understanding. Reviewing previous research regarding young people from foster care quickly

reveals a large population of students that deserve the same opportunities as non-foster care

students. Many people are simply unaware of the scope of the issues foster care students face as

they transition out of care. We have all heard of foster care, but most really do not understand

what happens when these students graduate from high school, turn eighteen, and are out of the

system. Studies reveal that students coming out of foster care lacking family support and not

receiving education are more likely to end up addicted to drugs, pregnant, incarcerated,

dependant on the welfare system, underemployed and homeless than non-foster care students

(Watt, Norton, & Jones, 2013, p. 1408).

According to a report from the Department of Health and Human Services (2012), there

were nearly 8,500 young people in foster care in North Carolina in 2012. According to Wolanin

(2005), The rates of college attendance and degree completion are dramatically lower for foster
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youth compared to their peers: a rate of college attendance of 20 percent compared to 60 percent,

and a rate of degree completion of 5 percent or less compared to 20 percent (p. vii). These

statistics show that many foster care students could potentially become part of some dark

circumstances that not only negatively impacts them, but the communities they live in and the

general economy. For instance, if they are not educated, they are more likely to end up

homeless, living on welfare, becoming incarcerated or addicted to drugs (Braciszewski, 2012).

Finding ways to improve these statistics should be a concern to many, but first it is important to

understand some of the specific barriers that keep these students from transitioning to college in

the first place.

The barriers to college entry for students transitioning out of foster care are plenty and

vary from one student to the next depending on their specific situations, emotional state, and

educational level. Some of the barriers I will specifically discuss are lack of college preparation,

admission processes, finances, and general lack of support. It is imperative to recognize these

barriers in order to work towards solutions. Once the barriers are identified, I discuss how

support initiatives can help break down these barriers for students so they can attain success

more easily.

College Entry Barriers

Lack of college preparation seems to be an issue regardless of a students family

background. Thousands of college students require developmental or remedial courses each

semester on college campus (Springer, Wilson, & Dole, 2015). For a young person in foster

care, this preparedness can prove to be even more lacking than the general population, and there

are several reasons for this. One, young people in foster care tend to move often, whether it is

from one foster care placement to another or back to family and then back into foster care. It is
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even more difficult for a guidance counselor or teacher at a high school to build rapport with the

student to help guide them toward college. Two, basic physiological, safety, love, and belonging

needs not being met keep young people fighting to fulfill these needs rather than working toward

self-actualization as seen in Maslows hierarchy of needs.

According to Maslow (1954), Undoubtedly these physiological needs are the most

prepotent of all needs. What this means specifically is that in the human being who is missing

everything in life in an extreme fashion, it is most likely that the major motivation would be the

physiological needs rather than any others. A person who is lacking food, safety, love, and

esteem would most probably hunger for food more strongly than for anything else (p. 36-37).

The third reason is a lack of motivation and a sense of unworthiness or that college is

unattainable. According to Salazar (2012), Studies have confirmed that youth who have spent

time in foster care often feel stereotyped, stigmatized, and devalued due to their identity of being

in care. Experiences of stigma were also found to translate to a sense of academic inferiority for

many of these youth (p. 144).

The second barrier is related to the admissions process. Getting into college is a multi-

step task that the general public does not know how to easily navigate. The process can be

extremely difficult and frustrating even for students with traditional family supports to assist

them. A young person out of foster care is much less likely to have anyone help them navigate

the system. If they have reached the age of fostering out, they may not even have foster family

support, unless the family chooses to continue the relationship. According to Dworsky and Perez

(2010), campus support program directors have concerns regarding foster youth not having

access to post-secondary educational information including college admissions requirements and

processes (p. 258). In addition to lack of support, there are additional steps for students in
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regards to admissions and financial aid such as providing court documentation that proves their

lack of care and financial support from family. Students may be required to write letters

detailing their lives in order to validate the circumstances. Additionally, these students often do

not have drivers license or vehicles of their own. Having someone transport them to open

houses, orientations, move-in days, and pick them up for school breaks is often a logistical

problem.

Finance issues are the third barrier. Scholarship and grant funding are available for

college students from foster care. This funding is sufficient for tuition, books, dining, and

room/board. However, students still have needs such as transportation, clothing, travel, and

other activities. The need to be independent in these areas can lead to foster students struggling

to balance school and work demands (National Center for Homeless Education, 2012). Research

demonstrates that finances are often the reason students from foster care do not complete college

(Unrau, 2012). According to Unrau (2012), The majority of the sample was succeeding

academically, but reported challenges with finances, psychological distress and access to health

care (p. 77). In addition, with the funds these students do receive, they are at a higher risk of

losing funding due to academic performance (Watt, et al., 2013).

The fourth and final barrier to be discussed is a theme seen throughout the other barriers.

The general lack of support is a factor in all areas of these students lives. In this area, the lack

of support would be from family for emotional support, encouragement, and guidance.

According to Unrau (2012) Young people who have lived in foster care are less able to depend

on family members for shelter, adult guidance, and financial support after high school than non-

foster youth (p. 76). Maslows hierarchy of needs comes back into play on this barrier. Even if

a student has basic needs and security, they still have the need for love and belonging. If they are
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focused on obtaining a sense of love and belonging, moving towards self-actualization will be

extremely difficult. This type of support is something many individuals from traditional family

backgrounds take for granted. Having parents that help with application processes, guidance in

making good decisions, going to orientations and offering encouragement to make good grades is

something many students out of foster care do not have.

Campus Support Initiatives

The picture painted thus far for this student population in regards to the broad scope of

the problem and all the barriers to education is quite bleak. Thankfully, there is hope of

improving these statistics and the outcomes of these students lives. College campuses providing

consistent support for the transition from foster care can help overcome these barriers and

improve these daunting statistics. Unfortunately, upon reviewing recent literature regarding

campus support initiatives, there seems to be a lack of supporting evidence of the effectiveness.

Salazar (2012) noted, an increase in campus support programs providing services such as

scholarships, housing access, priority registration, mentoring and referrals to improve retention

and completion rates of foster care students (p. 141). A study by Dworsky and Perez (2010)

showed improved retention for students using five different campus support programs, however

they noted a lack of data to prove the effectiveness stating their evidence came from participant

and staff interviews (p. 256). The lack of supporting evidence is partially due to the fact that

these support initiatives are relatively new, and there is not much awareness and research of

them. However, this lack of supporting evidence does not mean a program would not be

effective.

A case study by Dworsky (2010) reveals that Although former foster youth clearly

appreciated the concrete services and supports that they received, it was the less tangible benefits
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that they seemed to value most, things like having someone to turn to or someone who believed

in them and feeling understood or part of a family (p. 262). This group showed appreciation

for the belonging that a support group provided in this study, and there is evidence from alumni

that such services and support could have proven helpful, but they did not exist or they were not

aware of them. According to Salazar (2012) access to necessary resources can impact

educational outcomes and 32% of this student population were unaware of how to access needed

services and others expressed a desire for more services specific to their needs (p. 144). An

effective program would not only address the barriers to a college education for those

transitioning from foster care, but they would be accessible to those that need the services.

The first barrier a program should address is the lack of college preparedness. Regardless

of where we place the blame (parenting, social workers, or schools), the fact is that college age

students from foster care are not prepared for college. According to Day, Dworsky, Fogarty, and

Damashek (2011) In high school, foster youth are much less likely to take college preparatory

courses than their peers, (p. 2336). So, it seems a program at the college level that begins

working with students in their junior and senior years of high school could prove to be very

effective. First, this would allow students to have conversations and begin building relationships

with an advocate on campus that would help them transition into successful college students.

This idea of development and advocacy cultures would be beneficial for these students. As

noted by Manning and Munoz (2011), In the developmental culture, personal and professional

growth are primarily achieved through training and education (p. 278). Under this model, a

program could help foster care students in high school understand their options, prepare

academically, navigate the system and be more prepared when it is time to transition since

students, faculty, and staff immersed in the advocacy culture are particularly sensitive to issues
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of fairness, equity, and justice (p. 279). Another aspect of preparation could be a summer

program that brings students to campus prior to the beginning of the fall semester. Through this,

students could take necessary preparation courses, personal finance courses, and a university

experience course. During this time, they would begin developing valuable relationships with

peers, faculty, and staff that would make the transition much smoother.

Barriers related to the admissions process could also be managed through a support

program. Much in the way of the college preparedness, having someone to specifically work

with this group of students through a support program to help navigate the process would be

effective. Also having a designated person in admissions to work with this group of students

could help to navigate the system. These students often feel scrutinized and judged by their

circumstances, and a bad experience in the admissions office could prove detrimental to college

success.

A program that offers financial counseling and proper management of the funding the

students receive could ensure they complete their degree prior to the funding running out. Many

students quit school so they can afford their own transportation. Helping them realize they can

go to college without the expense of a car by utilizing public transportation and again the long

term effects of this decision can be the difference in academic success and failure.

Conclusion

The issue with foster care students transitioning to college has been defined, the barriers

to education that exist for these students have been discussed, and support initiatives designed to

help this population have been proposed. The issue of students transitioning from foster care to

college is identifiable and the barriers are many. However, the hope of positive change for this

student population through program development is exciting. I am personally committed to

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helping develop and maintain such programs to see change in these students lives wherever my

career in student affairs leads me.

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References

Braciszewski, J. j., & Stout, R. L. (2012). Substance use among current and former foster youth:

A systematic review. Children & Youth Services Review, 34(12), 2337-2344.

Day, A., Dworsky, A., Fogarty, K., & Damashek, A. (2011). An examination of post-secondary

retention and graduation among foster care youth enrolled in a four-year university.

Children and Youth Services Review, 33(11), 2335-2341.

Department of Health and Human Services, & Administration for Children and Families,

(DHHS). (2012). Child Welfare Outcomes 2009-2012. Report to Congress. US

Department of Health and Human Services.

Dworsky, A., & Prez, A. (2010). Helping former foster youth graduate from college through

campus support programs. Children & Youth Services Review, 32(2), 255-263.

Maslow, Abraham H. (1954). Motivation and Personality. PDF Version: Harper & Row.

National Center for Homeless Education. (2012). Best practices in homeless education:

Increasing access to higher education for unaccompanied homeless youth: Information

for colleges and universities. (Spring 2012)

Salazar, A. M. (2012). Supporting College Success in Foster Care Alumni: Salient Factors

Related to Postsecondary Retention. Child Welfare, 91(5), 139.

Schuh, J. H., Jones, S. R., Harper, S. R., & Associates. (2011). Student services: A handbook for

the profession (5th ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Springer, S. E., Wilson, T. J., & Dole, J. A. (2015). Ready or not: Recognizing and preparing

college-ready students. Journal Of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 58(4), 299-307

Unrau, Y. A., Font, S. A., & Rawls, G. (2012). Readiness for college engagement among

students who have aged out of foster care. Children And Youth Services Review, 3476-83.
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doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.09.002

Watt, T. T., Norton, C. L., & Jones, C. (2013). Designing a campus support program for foster

care alumni: Preliminary evidence for a strengths framework. Children And Youth

Services Review, 35(9), 1408-1417.

Wolanin, T.R.. (2005). Higher education opportunities for foster youth: A primer for policy

makers. The institute for higher education policy. (2005)