Some of the most vulnerable of all students entering postsecondary education are those who are, or have been, part of the foster care system in each state because they encounter academic, financial, legal, and social challenges within a disaggregated system of supports (Pecora et al., 2012;Sarubbi, Parker, & Sponsler, 2016). The majority of foster youth enter postsecondary education at a community college (Kirk & Day, 2011) placing the colleges front and center in foster youth postsecondary attainment. Community colleges, with strong ties to local communities and (in most contexts) shared linkages to local government services, are ideally situated to provide a structured support system for foster youth to have college success.Foster youth enter postsecondary education as an underrepresented and vulnerable student population. Other authors in this issue have addressed the challenges foster youth face in the transition to, and completion of, postsecondary education. This chapter will review recent foster youth postsecondary state policy enactments and implementation, followed by examples of foster youth programs at the state and institutional level. The chapter will then propose a structured support system to assist community college leaders in establishing or expanding student services in support of foster youth.
Foster Youth Postsecondary State-Level Programs and PoliciesSince 2000, twenty-eight states have enacted policy in the form of tuition assistance to increase the likelihood of foster youth entering postsecondary education (Sarubbi et al., 2016