National statistics show that less than two percent of former foster youth who attend college will graduate. Young people from foster care often lose their opportunity to achieve a college education because campus support services and other resources are either inaccessible or unavailable.

Hosted by the Silicon Valley Children’s Fund and the Connect Motivate Educate Society at San José State University, this fourth annual conference seeks to improve opportunities for these young people by bringing educators and college administrators together to improve their support services.

The conference will convene education professionals from universities, community college campuses, foster youth services, and K-12 schools to help them initiate or improve the services they offer to students from foster care.

The conference will provide training and technical assistance on:

• Campus-based support programs for foster youth
• Collaborations and forums for information sharing and collegial networking
• Collaborations between educational institutions and child welfare systems
• Support for students of color, who represent approximately 60 percent of youth in foster care nationwide
• Policy development strategies to promote support for colleges and universities in other states