Foster Care Alumni and Funding for Postsecondary Education: Examining Variation in State Support

Abstract

Recent modifications to the Foster Care Independence Act have enabled states to provide Education and Training Vouchers (ETVs) to foster care alumni who are enrolled in postsecondary education institutions. This article is a summary in which we examine the disparities in states' allocations for ETVs, as well as the variation in states' implementation of broad-based, state-funded tuition waivers. The outcomes are descriptive in nature and display the wide range in ETV funding across the United States; outcomes also indicate that just about half of the states in the United States offer state-funded tuition waivers to foster care alumni. The findings are further discussed in the context of recommendations that would help support further research on programs and services for this population.The difficulties facing former foster youth who "age out" of the U.S. child welfare system have been documented in numerous research studies and We appreciate the comments and suggestions from Janet Murray on an earlier version of this article.

Opportunity Role Structure, Social Support, and Leadership: Processes of Foster Youth Advisory Board Participation

“…Youth aging out of care may transition to independent adulthood with mere perfunctory safety nets (Bellamy, ; Courtney & Heuring, ; Shirk & Stangler, ; Simmel, Shpiegel, & Murshid, ), despite a sustained need for support (Avery & Freundlich, ; Osgood, Foster, & Courtney, ). Many youth in their final years of care have low rates of academic achievement and a high risk of adversity (Goodkind, Schelbe, & Shook, ; Keller, Cusick, & Courtney, ).…”

Connected After Care: Youth Characteristics, Policy, and Programs Associated With Postsecondary Education and Employment for Youth With Foster Care Histories

“…This includes the types, quality, and dosage of IL services a youth receives, and the specific ETV amount disbursed to a youth (in combination with other sources of aid). Research has found that many students may not have access to ETVs or FICA-funded programs (Okpych, 2015; Okpych et al, 2020; Simmel et al, 2013). Future research should explore how states are utilizing FCIA funding and how that is related to youth connectedness.…”

“…Further, difficulties in monitoring IL programs have persisted across states, but have recently improved with the development of the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD). Research on ETVs has shown considerable variation in ETV use and expenditures across states (Simmel et al, 2013), and early findings suggest that ETV receipt increases the odds of first-year college persistence (Okpych et al, 2020).…”