Without creating new programs or increasing the authorization funding amount of the Higher Education Act (HEA), the federal government can take steps to improve the academic and economic outcomes of youth currently or formerly in foster care.
This 12-page report, published in November 2003 by Casey Family Programs, makes three recommendations for the reauthorization of the federal Higher Education Act (HEA):
- Require the U.S. General Accounting Office to study how to expand the concept of “ability to benefit” to increase the number of deserving foster youth who have access to a higher education.
- Require the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance to provide recommendations for expanding foster youth access to federal financial aid.
- Encourage TRIO and GEAR UP programs to make foster youth a priority.
Casey Family Programs discussed these recommendations with leaders from the postsecondary-education and child-welfare communities at a Higher Education and Child Welfare Summit in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 13, 2003. (For details on the convening, please see “Press Releases” in our Media Center section.)