Cleared for Take-off?

1. Cleared for Take-off? Foster Care to Success: Transitioning Past High School Region 10: CARE 2014 Gayle Jordan, M.Ed., CSC

2. a closer look: the heart of the matter • In Texas, foster youth may leave the social services system (also known as “aging out”) when they turn 18 or graduate from high school. But few young people are capable of starting adulthood on their own at the age of 18; imagine starting out as a foster youth with no family, no guardian, no solid foundation or community to help you establish an independent life. • Take this stress of “aging-out” and factor in the intense and sustained stress while growing up which increases the need for healthy supportive relationships. • DFPS offers many resources for youth aging out, however, to obtain these resources a FC Young Adult must be focused, determined, self-motivated and vigilant. • Decision-making, planning, organizing, and managing skills are complex for many FC Adults whose crucial need is love.

3. list of topics • The Heart of a FC Young-Adult • If you really knew me • Same yet different • What I think, What I need • Help: Give Them What They Need • Guiding Principles • Stepping Stones • Vision • Motivation • Relevance • Support • Guidance • Reassurance • Cleared for Take-off • Liaison Resources

4. Heart of the FC Young-AdultIf you really knew me… You would know: • I have attended more than 7 schools, most likely • I am smart however it may not seem like it on paper (gaps) • I will be a first-generation college student, most likely • College is valued yet viewed as abstract not as reality, in my mind • I do not know what I do not know (how can I begin) • The language of college is new to me; I don’t know what to ask or I’m embarrassed to ask because I should know (syllabus, degree plan, credits) • My reality: where will I live, will I have money, who will care about me now, • I say I’m an adult but I feel like a child (lonely, scared, unsure, abandoned) • To me, today is most important; I make decisions for the moment based on feelings or survival (lack hopeful vision) • I wish I were like my peers (had people I could trust)

5. Heart of the FC Young Adult Same Yet different… My Goals (survival) Peer Goals (expectations) • Graduate HS • Love • Income • Housing • Trustworthy people • Employment/college • Graduate HS • Enroll into University • Scholarships • Network • Graduate College • Begin Career

6. Heart of the FC Young Adult What I think: What I need: • What is really important? • Why should I care? • How is college helpful? • Who cares? • Can I do this? • When can I be self-sufficient? • Where do I begin? • Vision • Motivation • Relevance • Support • Guidance • Reassurance • Stepping Stones

7. Give Them What They NeedStepping Stones: Guiding Principles • Vision • Motivation • Relevance • Support • Guidance • Reassurance

8. Stepping Stone #1 Cast a Vision Create: • a risk-free environment for the students in which they can begin to dream • create a springboard for them to envision a hopeful future • Provide inspiration and assurance that a hopeful vision is possible • Teach and guide them to plan-and-reach for it HOW: • Enlist/partner/and equip School Counselors • Lunch Bunch • Advisory period • Handouts • Videos • Speakers-first generation • Websites • Posters

9. Stepping Stone #2 Inspire Motivation FC youth are likely to: • be a “first-generation” student in college • enter college with less academic/social preparation due to many moves/set-backs • have limited access to information about careers and college experience, either first-hand or from relatives. • Need more information through exposure & experiences Exposure: • Youth activities • Youth organizations • Community Leaders • Speakers (first- generation) • Youtube.com • Career Videos & Assessments • Texasgearup.com

10. Stepping Stone #3 Design Relevance FC youth are likely to: • Lack specific types of knowledge, such as the connection between career goals and educational requirements • Need, intellectual self-authorship, develop understanding relevant to the individual’s life experiences & understanding • Respond to active learning situations; connect new knowledge with their individual life experiences • Survival mode • Role models- Alumni • Firstgenerationstudent.com • Firstinthefamily.org • Mycollegeoptions.org • Educationfortexans.org • FC2success.org (Foster Care to Success) Experience: • Texas Workforce • Service Learning • Internships in the community • Mentors: Community leaders • Texas Gear Up.com

11. Stepping Stone #4 Catalog Support Make sure students know about support services and how to access them, as needed.

12. Stepping Stone #5 Initiate Guidance (High School) • Provide senior transitional meetings; allowing 1-1 meetings with first-generation/FC seniors • FAFSA, question #53: Independent student • Discuss with students the wide range of postsecondary education and training opportunities (certificate programs, etc.) • Help students match postsecondary programs with their goals and skills (career assessment) • Help students prepare checklist of materials to gather which will be needed for admission process; test results, state ID, social security card, FAFSA, immunization records, etc. • Discuss/prepare a list of questions to be asked by a first-generation college student • Encourage students to attend college orientation

13. Stepping Stone #5 Initiate Guidance • For the first-generation college students, especially those from foster care, choosing a school with a structured first-year support program is considered a key factor in completing their education. Post-high school • First-year Experience • Freshman Orientation • Summer Bridge Programs • Freshman Seminars • Learning Communities, Intrusive Advising and Mentoring

14. Stepping Stone #6 Ensure Reassurance • For every school move-students in foster care lose 4-6 months of emotional growth & academic preparation-they drown in uncertainty and need reassurance • Give them permission to come out of their comfort zone with courage • Assure them that they can be self-sufficient when they take the tools you are offering and apply them; the will to be self-sufficient is up to them • Remember ~ Every child, no matter what the circumstances into which they are born, deserves the same loving support, encouragement and resources as our own children.”Foster Care to Success Founder Joseph Rivers • Guiding Principles for Success!

15. Six Guiding Principles for success • I envision my success (vision) • I am a strong person with unique talents, gifts and skills (motivation) • I am proud of the cultural and personal values that make me who I am (relevance) • I benefit most by having services and supports that work together to help me achieve my goals (support) • I pursue relationships that help me succeed and seek opportunities to make contributions to others (guidance) • I am a leader, and I make important contributions to my community (reassurance) • ~It’s My Life,

16. Reflections: Cleared for Take-off!! • Vision: Provide handouts of local community colleges, universities, degree plans, career correlations, housing, websites, videos, testimonies • Motivation: Create a springboard to expose options and inspire action to communicate, plan, determine and organize goals • Relevance: Design experiences to connect; prompt intellectual self-authorship; correlate education to the world around them • Support: Catalog the vast amount of support offered from the high school, college and community • Guidance: Initiate individual transitional meetings in support of “first-generation” student needs • Reassurance: Ensure guiding principles for self-sufficiency and future success

17. Resources: for the FC Liaison/HS Counselor • It’s My Life: Postsecondary Education and Training, website: www.casey.org • Beyond the Foster Care System-The Future for Teens, by Betsy Krebs & Paul Pitcoff • A Framework for Understanding Poverty, by Ruby K. Payne • DFPS, “Access Granted – Texas Foster Care Handbook for Youth”, a friendly guide on resources and support, website: www.dfps.state.tx.us/documents/child_protection/pdf/foster-care-handbook.pdf (English version) • DFPS Transitional Living Services, website: www.dfps.state.ex.us/Child_Protection/Youth_and_Young_Adults/transitional_living/default.asp • Texas Foster Youth Justice Project, “A Guide for Those “Aging Out” of Foster Care in Texas”website: www.texasfosteryouth.org

18. Cleared for Take-off! Gayle Jordan, Advanced Education Coordinator, M.Ed., CSC I am a Certified School Counselor currently working at Presbyterian Children’s Homes & Services (PCHAS) in Texas.  PCHAS provides care and support to children and families in need through group homes, foster care, adoption, single parent residential and community resources in Texas, Missouri and Louisiana.  I have worked at PCHAS since 2006.  As the Advanced Education Coordinator for  PCHAS, I assist foster care students transitioning out of high school and into college.  I guide them through the application process of college admission, financial aid, PAL/ETV benefits, housing applications and community resources.  Through the PCHAS Advanced Education Program, I continually guide and support them until they graduate or leave college.    I am a first-generation college graduate of Dallas Baptist University where I received both my Bachelor and Master’s of Education.  I am a member of the Texas Counseling Association and the Texas School Counselor Association.  Prior to joining PCHAS in 2006,  I served as a classroom teacher for ten years in public and private schools in Ellis County.  My love for helping youth aging-out of foster care comes from personal experience.  I lived in foster care after the age of 13, entered into college at the age of 18.  I know first-hand how challenging the college admission, financial aid,  and journey to survive can be for a young person coming from foster care.