Foster Teens Cut Off from College Entry Programs

So the question was asked by Marlena Krueger, "It's wonderful that the majority of foster kids want to attend college. Are there any existing programs to help them achieve this? The short answer is "yes", but that doesn't touch on the dismal reality for thousands of foster teens.


There are many programs to help teens in general and some to help foster teenagers specifically. Just in Time for Foster Youth is a San Diego non-profit that helps foster teens to get into and pay for college. There are many other programs such as Reality Changers, again in San Diego. They have an outstanding track record for working with student so they win scholarships to top level colleges such as Dartmouth and Harvard. And I would be remiss not to include PIQE and the Eva Longoria Foundation.

However, there are structural problems with many programs that can and do essentially exclude foster youth. Reality Changers has students come to their facility after school to do homework and then to get training so they can successfully go for scholarships. This is no slight against the program. As a past guest and speaker, I can say that the organization has the highest level of quality.


Having said that, though, someone has to deliver the student to the facility for an ongoing commitment. Most foster kids are not in a home situation where the foster parent will be this active. Many foster children are just happy to have some stability in their lives such as not changing homes for the year. So, yes, Reality Changers works (and very well), but foster children would not be ideal candidates.

A similarly focused program exists with PIQE, another outstanding non-profit dedicated to helping high school students get into college. The PIQE method is focused on parents getting trained so they can help their children successfully go through the entrance and finance process. Again, many foster teenagers are not greeted by an adult who asks them how their day was at school or helps the child with their homework. It can happen, but it's unrealistic to believe that the majority of foster parents are spending quality time helping their foster child get into college. Foster child education statistics show that this is clearly not happening at a alarming level that should be considered an educational crisis.
 
And finally let's talk about a new and active organization, the Eva Longoria Foundation. It's dedicated to helping Latina teenagers get into college. Again this is no slight to Eva or her foundation. She should be applauded for taking her fame and wealth and using it to help Latinas. But when I spoke with the foundation, they explained that they presently do not have anything in place to specifically help Latina foster teenagers. Could some get into the program? It's possible, but if there are foster teens in the program, they are either choosing not to identify themselves as being in foster care (completely understandable but that's another post) or there are not enough to have caught the attention of the foundation.

So the answer to the question is a huge "yes." There are programs that could help foster teens to continue their education and go onto college. Programs like Just In Time for Foster Youth are successful. Sadly, though, there are real obstacles preventing foster children from taking advantage of more than a handful of programs. Until more foster parents step up who have a deep care for their foster kids including helping them to stay in school, we will continue to see sickening educational statistics for foster kids.


One proven way to help all foster teenagers to stay in school is to support a service that locates their family members. Foster youth who are placed with relatives generally do better in school, graduate, enter college and earn their four-year degree at more than double the rate of children placed in foster homes. Our organization is launching a crowdfunding campaign Nov. 10 to raise funds for our foster children caseload for 2015. We invite you to be part of the solution.

The solution is not complex, but getting there will take more than just the failing educational and foster care systems.

Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

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Foster Youth - Prevention is Key to Helping Foster Children

In some ways it's easy to talk about the plight of foster children. Pull up foster child education statistics and photos, and you'll get some people's attention. Once awareness has been achieved, many caring adults will engage in thoughtful and thought provoking conversations. Some will ask why the status quo exists while others will propose ways to help foster youth have a better life once they age out of the foster care system.


Here is the recent foster care statistic that generated so much commentary.

Robert Callesen of The Car Lot commented:

"Thanks for the info, but what solutions are available?"

Nick Huntington, owner of Sweet Cakes Café, followed with:

"What is the solution. . .? Seems like this is an epidemic not only for Foster Children but for many children of varied backgrounds."

Barbara Loraine, Founder of Be Irresistible offered:

"Prevention is key... once kids have aged out, "working hard" isn't enough. They each need to be given training, a break and support along the way. What happens that they "can't keep a job more than one year?"

To understand the disastrous results that occur to foster youth once they age out, you first have to know what happens to these children while in foster care and leading up to the day these foster teens are forced out of the system.

As we wrote in our recent blog, "Foster Children - Not Finding a Foster Child's Relatives May Open a New Door," about half of the 400,000 U.S. foster children in the system this year will be returned to their parents or legal guardians. Thousands more will get adopted. Some foster teens will run away, and 24,000 foster youth will age out. Let's focus on those foster kids who will remain in the foster care system and will age out within the next few years.

We agree with the many comments we received including those of Terri Levine, marketing consultant, and Carly Fanguy of 57 Degrees that there needs to be a solid support system to help foster teens transition from being in the system to being on their own.


The largest federal program to help these children is Chafee. We highlighted this foster youth program recently. Foster children are taken through training to prepare them for being on their own. However, from the foster kid statistics, such as the one above, clearly this program has only limited success.

Educational programs have been established to help provide funding and scholarships for foster teens who want to go to college such as Just in Time. This San Diego-based organization is dedicated to helping these children get into universities. Actor and activist, Eva Longoria, has created a foundation that helps Latina get into college. It's unclear if this successful organization has a specific focus on helping Hispanic foster children who number close to 84,000 kids.

There are many community-based programs popping up around the country to help these children. In our blog, "Foster Children - Foster Kids Receive Support from Organizations," we highlighted the success of Epicenter that is helping California foster kids better transition into society once they age out. The organization was established ten years ago and has spread out into other communities in Northern California.


Ana Hawk of Instant Barter LLC had commented, "Prevention is the best cure. However, reality demands that new programs be put in place." Clearly you can see that new non-government programs have been created to help foster teens with their transition to independence.


Unfortunately, the majority of the preparation given to foster youth approaching age out appears to be coming from foster care agencies. Until more successful programs come on line and at a national level, it's probable that former foster kids will continue to suffer a dismal life.

As I wrote at the beginning, many people including Misty Morgan of Rental Matchmaker and Suzy Marmis Owen of Suzy Q Help wonder how they and others can help these children. Just as Barbara and Ana said, the best solution is prevention.

It's so important to repeat that foster children who are able to stay with a relative perform better at school. This higher level of performance means that these kids generally feel better about themselves. Their scholastic success helps them integrate with their peers. With family support, these foster teens graduate and more often go on to college or get vocational training. Armed with a solid educational background and family support, these kids can go on to live successful, productive lives.


One of the best and proven ways to help these children is for them to be placed with family. For this to happen, family members first have to be located and notified which is exactly what our organization does. Want to help foster children before they age out? Support our foster children efforts through a variety of ways.

If you decide to help another organization, more power to you. No matter which organization you support, you can make a lasting impact on the life of one or many foster youth. You don't have to wait for new programs and a reboot of existing government programs. All it takes to change the outcome for foster children from negative to positive is for you and those you know to step up and take action.

As Liz Harris of Liz Harris Realty said, "Let's lend a helping hand." What more needs to be said?

Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

PS. As Tony Robbins says, "Take immediate action." Leave a comment below and share this blog post with others.

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Foster Childen - Foster Child Education Statistics Will Make You Sad or Mad

Yesterday we posted these foster kid statistics about foster children in Georgia. Education is vital to the welfare of all children, especially foster kids because many will age out of foster care with no one to care or support them other than themselves. Foster home instability has a negative impact on these children's education as well as a financial cost to schools.


We realized we had hit a nerve because of the many comments we received. Responses to these foster kid statistics ranged from "These stats are really disturbing." by Gia Heller, an international expert on social media to Helene Illston, a former foster parent, who wrote,

"What's really sad is that these same kids grow up to be adults that don't stand much of chance and then create more dependent children and then the cycle starts all over again."

The research shows that foster children in Georgia move from one foster home to another on average 7-10 times while they are in the system. This movement causes these kids to lose up to half a year of school resulting in some foster youth missing as much as four years of education.

An impact study reported in JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association, researched to effect of frequent movement on students. They looked at nearly 10,000 children. Although the study is dated (1993) and the focus was not on foster children specifically, the findings are most pertinent to these kids.

The study found the following between kids who moved frequently and those who moved infrequently or never:

The study conclusion was:

"Frequent family relocation was associated with an increased risk of children failing a grade in school and four or more frequently occurring behavioral problems."

Another, more recent international study (1997) that focused specifically on foster kids found unequivocal results concerning foster children and education:

• Foster youth dropped out of high school at a much higher rate and were significantly less likely to have completed a GED.
 
• Foster youth reported more discipline problems in school and experienced more educational disruption due to changing schools.
 
• They were significantly less likely to be in a college preparatory high school track.
 
• The adults in the lives of the foster care youth were less likely to monitor homework.

There is also the direct financial hit that the education system takes for each student that is retained, kept back a grade. A study by the Brookings Institute revealed that:

Given average per pupil spending of roughly $10,700 (the most recent national estimate), the direct cost to society of retaining 2.3 percent of the 50 million students enrolled in American schools exceeds $12 billion annually.

Foster kids make up a significant percentage of all children who move frequently, costing the public educational system as much as $28,890 (based on the average stay in foster care of 2.7 years). Add this amount to the already sizeable investment of $80,000 to $190,000 paid out in services to support the average foster child.

There is one bright spot about the educational situation for foster kids. A 2006 foster care study uncovered two encouraging findings that positively help foster children.

1. A positive placement history (e.g., high placement stability, few failed reunifications)
2. A broad independent living preparation (as exemplified by having concrete resources upon leaving care).

One of the best ways to give foster children high placement stability is finding their family members so these kids can be in relative placement. Studies show that these foster youth do much better academically.

Although clearly the education of foster youth suffers greatly due, in part, to constantly changing home environments, this is only one aspect of the overall challenges experienced by these children. We also have to wonder at the real functionality of the U.S. foster care system. It becomes obvious that there is much more money being invested to support foster kids. We have to ask not only ourselves but our government representatives if it isn't way past time to make some important long-term management changes in the system.

Do it for the children,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

PS. Share your thoughts and ideas below and share this post with others.

Get a PDF copy of this blog about the educational challenges facing foster kids.

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