Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy abuse, Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, Consumer debt, Financial problems,

No abstract

Qualitative interview data were used to explore the experiences of college students with foster care or homelessness experiences. Participants, with an average age of 21 years, included 18 female and nine male students with a history of homelessness or foster care enrolled in several independent 4-year colleges in one Southeastern state. Participants were recruited through a flyer that was distributed via an email message to individuals and organizations who worked with prospective participants. The qualitative data were collected over the course of an academic year from several in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Interviews were analyzed using a directed content analysis approach to identify key themes: getting by on their own, meeting material needs requires agency, and the Catch-22 of managing academic and material needs. Findings suggest that many of the students in the study experienced a fragile and seemingly unsustainable balance between meeting material needs and academic demands. The current financial aid model, which relies on significant contributions from parents, was insufficient for most students in the study. Results support the need for interventions that improve the ability of students with foster care and homelessness histories to manage their material and academic needs as college students.

Many college undergraduates lack basic financial management knowledge and skills while bearing ever increasing debt burdens upon graduation. In order to encourage students to become aware of their spending patterns and weigh those patterns against personal values, a selfmonitoring project was implemented as a class activity. The resulting effect on financial behavior was examined. Analysis of participants' self-reflection papers revealed that awareness of spending behaviors increased universally among participants, and a significant proportion of students spontaneously modified spending behaviors to more closely conform to personal values. Participants consistently reported the importance of a spending management tool in modifying spending behavior.

This study builds on previous research to understand longer term housing experiences in late adolescence and early adulthood for vulnerable college students. Using a biographical, qualitative method, we study high school and college housing and family circumstances for 27 students with homelessness or foster care experience enrolled in 4-year colleges in Georgia. We identified three different housing pathway types in high school-family homelessness, unaccompanied youth and foster care.Housing instability and frequent moves were common in high school among all housing pathway types. In college, students who were able to find low or no-cost housing and those who identified a foster care pathway in high school achieved greater housing stability. Others students experienced a continuation of housing instability that began in high school. Additional funding to cover the cost of on-campus housing would likely contribute to increased stability. Additional strategies, such as rental assistance programmes tailored for college students, may be needed to address housing instability for vulnerable college students. More research on the unmet housing needs and the consequences of housing instability during college for homeless and foster youth is needed to further a housing policy agenda that focuses on practical solutions.