Avenue G: GEAR UP’s College Access Path for Students Experiencing Foster Care

“The most influential of all educational factors is the conversation in a child's home” (William Temple).  But what if the child’s home is a group home or a private home of a state-certified caregiver?  Who is responsible for passing along these influential educational factors? For youth that experience foster care, the idea of a “home” and the people in it can be vastly different from the traditional definition of a home, where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household.  On average, a third of youth that experience foster care often experience 5 or more placements, making it difficult to make permanent connections with a supportive adult in the home that will recognize their responsibility in, and the importance of preparing the young person for post-secondary education.  Consequently, less than 60 percent of youth experiencing care will finish high school before aging out and less than 11 percent will go on to pursue a college degree.

However, I believe that utilizing the framework of the federal program, Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs or GEAR UP, may be one approach to better support and prepare students that experience foster care for college.  GEAR UP’s mission is to increase the number of low income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in post-secondary education.  According to the 2008 Census Bureau’s Data on Children in Foster Care, households with foster children are more likely than all households with children to be below the 200 percent poverty line.  So we can assume that students from foster care are most likely living in school districts that are eligible for GEAR UP services.  One program in Kansas has recognized GEAR UP’s ability to support this population and given top priority for services to youth from foster care in their district.   The Kansas Kids @GEAR UP at Wichita State University works to increase the number of students in foster care who graduate from high school fully prepared for enrollment in post-secondary education by providing year round activities and services for students. During the academic year, Kansas Kids offers mentoring, counseling, campus visits and life skills workshops like financial literacy.  The summer activities are designed to keep students involved in academic and enrichment activities, where students are enrolled in reading, math, English, computer usage, post-secondary planning, and employment opportunities.  This type of year round, uniquely structured, and population specific programming offered by Kansas Kids works to counter the educational challenges many students experiencing foster care face and provides a “home” that encourages ongoing conversation about education.

Although Kansas Kids @GEAR UP is an exclusive program, any GEAR UP program can  adapt many of the required grant objectives to meet the specific needs of youth experiencing foster care.  The first step in this process is to determine the scale of need by identifying the number of students from care in your cohort.  Identifying students can be done through building a rapport with your students so they self-identify, by simply adding one question about foster care to the GEAR UP survey, or last, by accessing the school district’s Free and Reduced Cost lunch  applications that inquire about a student’s foster care status.  And because of the amendments to the 2012 FERPA, allowing educational authorities to share information, a data sharing agreement can be created between GEAR UP and the district to gain access to this document.  After identification, there are six grant objectives I have identified that can be tailored to the needs of the population: Comprehensive Mentoring, Counseling/Advising/Academic & Career Counseling, College Visits, Financial Aid Counseling, Support Services, and Family/Cultural Events.  GEAR UP can collaborate with community mentoring programs or partner with university Social Work or Education Departments to offer students experiencing foster care Comprehensive Mentoring on a one to one basis.   When providing students with Counseling/Advising/Academic & Career Counseling and arranging College Visits, GEAR UP Coordinators can make sure they are knowledgeable about and sharing websites like Fostering Success Michigan, which provides a national map with links to statewide education support programs and four year educational institutions that have campus based support programs providing services to students that have experienced care.  When talking to students about Financial Aid, GEAR UP Coordinators should also make sure students are aware of the Education Training Voucher, available in 43 states, as well as states that offer tuition waivers for students that have experienced care.  Support Services coordinated for students should have an emphasis on interdependent life skills, such as the financial literacy workshops Kansas Kids implemented.  Finally, when planning for Family/Cultural Events, GEAR UP Coordinators can assist their students in working to redefine “family” and use person centered language, helping a young person understand that they are a student that has experienced foster care, as they have probably also experienced friendships, first loves, sadness, and anger.  Our students are more than what they are often labeled, a foster kid!

What resources will it take to make these adjustments?  Maybe some money.  But mostly, it’s going to take time, effort, and dedicated professionals that are willing to take the steps to equip themselves with the appropriate knowledge and resources to better serve our students.  They deserve it!  

Joi Rencher received her undergraduate degree in Sociology, with a focus on issues of race, class, sexuality, and gender inequalities, as well as her Masters in Social Work from the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor.  She has ten years of social work experience, serving a socio-culturally diverse population of youth, young adults, and families.  She is currently the Coordinator and Independent Life Skills Coach for the Mentoring, Access, and Guidance in College (MAGIC) program at Eastern Michigan University.  Within this role, Joi supports students that have experienced foster care or homelessness and attending the university.  Joi specializes in program development, crisis intervention, group and individual therapy, and actively facilitating empowerment through empathy and advocacy.