Few students from foster care ever gain access to higher education programs, let alone graduate from college. Only 7 to 13 percent of students from foster care enroll in higher education. About 2 percent obtain bachelor’s degrees, in contrast to about 26 percent of adults in the general population. Young people from foster care often report that few people in their lives ever expected them to attend and succeed in college. They seldom receive the guidance and stable supports needed to prepare for higher education. Too often, unemployment, underemployment, and homelessness face young adults after they age out of the system.
Postsecondary education and training programs can help youth succeed
Colleges, policymakers, and advocates have begun to address this issue with calls for policy advances, practice innovations, and influential advocacy. Casey Family Programs’ framework—Supporting Success: Improving Higher Education Outcomes for Students from Foster Care—provides program development tools for administrators, student support services staff, advisors, and advocates. It helps education professionals define a plan for improving their institution’s support for students from foster care.
Casey Family Programs provides bound, printed copies of this publication free of charge. Alternatively, you may also download Supporting Success by clicking the link in the right column. Postsecondary institutions may also find the customizable Program Planning and Improvement Guide useful for assessing current supports and identifying opportunities for growth. A Microsoft Word file, the guide is intended to be a working document. It may also generate reflections and questions to guide the planning effort.