Youth Fostering Change Youth Advocates Create Guide to Higher Education Success for Foster Youth

Juvenile Law Center,

Above: Youth Fostering Change Youth Advocates with Philadelphia Department of Human Services officials

Studies estimate that about 20% of the nation's foster youth enroll in college, compared to about 60% of their peers. And of those 20%, only about 1-11% continue on to obtain a bachelor's degree, compared to approximately 30% of young adults with no history of child welfare system involvement. 

Increasing the number of foster youth who graduate from college is a critical goal. As we know, earning a bachelor's degree creates a path to job stability, success, and higher earnings—a path that should and must be open to these youth.

In an effort to meet this goal, our Youth Fostering Change Youth Advocates devoted their 2012-2013 program year to helping foster youth in Philadelphia better plan their educational futures.

Youth Fostering Change, one of our youth engagement programs, offers youth in the Philadelphia area with a history of child welfare system involvement the opportunity to evaluate the system and launch a campaign to advocate for reform.

Recognizing that planning for college must begin early, Youth Advocates decided that foster youth in high school needed a clear, easy-to-use tool to guide them in completing high school, identifying their educational goals, and preparing for college, starting in ninth grade. They created "For the Love of Success: An Educational Toolkit for Philadelphia Foster Youth."

The guide is broken down into two sections. The first section, "Getting to Know You," identifies a youth's needs, strengths, skills, and interests. It also helps youth create short- and long-term goals to map out a plan for success.

The second section, "Planning It Out," helps foster youth understand exactly what they have to do to get into college. It includes information on finding colleges, what you need to apply for college, and financial aid. It also has insightful advice from foster youth who have been through the process and bountiful resources for youth to plan successful college experiences. This section includes a checklist to ensure youth are on track with all the tasks they need to get into college.

In addition to creating this guide, Youth Advocates also partnered with filmmaker Will Drinker to create this video about their own educational experiences, and why this guide is needed: 

[video:http://youtu.be/y7mMNpW70nU]

Thanks to the Philadelphia Department of Human Services for publishing this guide and for their continued support of our youth engagement programs!

Download "For the Love of Success: An Educational Toolkit for Philadelphia Foster Youth" >>