Preparing Youth for Post-secondary Educational Success

1. Preparing Youth for Post-secondary Educational Success GAL Spring Training InstituteDecember 6, 2012

2. Agenda • Outcomes • Preparing youth for adulthood • Engage youth in planning • Importance of education and support • Post-secondary preparation • Long-term planning for youth and their team • Resources • Education and Training Voucher (ETV) program • Questions

3. Outcomes Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth Study, 2007 • Youth “aging out” of foster care experience numerous difficulties after leaving foster care, with the most significant obstacles in the areas of: Education, housing, health care and employment. Factors Contributing to Outcomes • Circumstances leading to placement: Abuse, neglect, trauma, mental health issues • Events occurring in placement: Moves, disruptions, grief/loss, limited family contact • Limited preparation and support: Skill building, permanency planning, and permanent connections

4. Prepare Youth for Adult Living • Ongoing process of collaborative/individualized planning • Focusing on strengthening present/future well-being by: • providing life skills to be achieved/sustained, and • assisting youth in developing lifelong supportive connections • Including participation by youth, family members, significant adults, and professionals who have a commitment and contribution to successful outcomes.

5. Continuous Process of preparing youth in foster care for adult living

6. Engage Youth in Planning • The independent living plan (ILP) is required for a youth age 16 or older to be completed by the agency responsible for their placement. It focuses on current/future planning for youth to build and obtain life skills and to receive support in establishing and maintaining connections with their family and community • Minnesota Statutes 260C.212, section Subd.1 (c) (11) and 260C.203 (2)

7. The ILP is required for all foster care youth at age 16. The plan must include: • Educational, vocational or employment planning; • Health care planning and medical coverage; • Transportation/assist in obtaining a driver’s license; • Money management; • Planning for housing; • Social and recreational skills; • Establishing and maintaining connections with family and community; and Minnesota Statute, section 260C.212, subd.1 (c) (11)

8. Obtained a high school diploma or its equivalent; • Completed driver’s education/use public transportation; • Employed or enrolled in post-secondary education; • Applied/obtained post-secondary education financial aid; • Has health care coverage and providers for physical and mental health needs; • Applied/obtained disability income assistance; • Obtained affordable housing and supports and has an alternative affordable housing plan if the original plan is unworkable (does not include a homeless shelter); • Saved funds for the 1st month’s rent/damage deposit; • If male, has registered for the Selective Service; and • Has a permanent connection to a caring adult. Minnesota Statute, section 260C.203 (2)

9. Schools Plan for Students (a) School districts encouraged to assist all students by no later than grade 9 to explore their college and career interests and aspirations and develop a plan for a smooth and successful transition to postsecondary education or employment. Plans must be designed to: (1) provide a comprehensive academic plan for completing a college and career-ready curriculum . . . and developing 21st century skills such as team work, collaboration, and good work habits; (2) emphasize academic rigor and high expectations; (3) help students identify personal learning styles that may affect their postsecondary education and employment choices; (4) help students succeed at gaining access to postsecondary education and career options; Minnesota State Statues, section 120B.125

10. (5) integrate strong academic content into career-focused courses and integrate relevant career-focused courses into strong academic content; (6) help students and families identify and gain access to appropriate counseling and other supports and assistance that enable students to complete required coursework, prepare for postsecondary education and careers, and obtain information about postsecondary education costs and eligibility for financial aid and scholarship; (7) help students and families identify collaborative partnerships of kindergarten through grade 12 schools, postsecondary institutions, economic development agencies, and employers that support students' transition to postsecondary education and employment and provide students with experiential learning opportunities; and

11. (8) be reviewed and revised at least annually by the student, the student's parent or guardian, and the school or district to ensure that the student's course-taking schedule keeps the student "on track" to meet state and local high school graduation requirements and with a reasonable chance to succeed with employment or postsecondary education without the need to first complete remedial course work. (b) A school district may develop grade-level curricula or provide instruction that introduces students to various careers, but must not require any curriculum, instruction, or employment-related activity that obligates an elementary or secondary student to involuntarily select a career, career interest, employment goals, or related job training. (c) School districts are encouraged to seek and use revenue and in-kind contributions from nonstate sources and to seek administrative cost savings through innovative local funding arrangements, such as the Collaboration Among Rochester Educators (CARE) model for funding postsecondary enrollment options, among other sources, for purposes of implementing this section.

12. Importance of Education • Of the multiple challenges facing foster care youth, low educational achievement has the most troubling consequences for adult quality of life. • The acquisition of basic literacy skills is directly related to successful high school graduation, post-secondary enrollment, and successful transition to adulthood. • School success is correlated with positive self-esteem and hope for the future. • Active engagement in school life provides youth with the opportunities for peer support/significant adult connections that have been associated with positive outcomes for emancipated youth. • Leading indicator of successful adult sufficiency. It’s my life: A framework for youth transitioning from foster care to successful adulthood, Casey Family Programs

13. Importance of Education

14. Importance of Support • Connecting youth in foster care with supportive adults act as protective factors to aid in the successful transition to adulthood, resiliency, and recovery from trauma. • Two critical factors helping youth overcome challenges/develop resilience: (1). a positive, trusting relationship with an adult, and (2). an external support system. • “Supportive relationships are the single most important factor in how successful youth will be when they leave care. The quality of the personal support network will be the greatest indicator of success for these youth once out on their own.”

15. Reaching Successful Futures: An Evaluation of Minnesota’s ETV Program Evaluation, 2011 Larissa Peyton and Katharine Hill St. Catherine University/University of Saint Thomas School of Social Work

16. Supports • ETV recipients’ sources of emotional supports: • Before starting postsecondary: Foster parents, significant others, and friends • After starting postsecondary: Significant others, foster parents, and biological family members

17. ETV recipients’ sources of academic supports: Professors, financial aid staff, social workers, academic counselors or tutors, and other supports including bosses. • Importance of specific academic supports: Help in choosing courses and majors, tutoring, graduate and professional school advising, and access to a computer lab.

18. ETV recipients’ sources of financial support: More than half received financial assistance from sources other than the ETV program, including: • Pell Grants or public financial aid such as Stafford Loans (88%) • Scholarships (53%) • Private bank loans (35%) • Work earnings (35%) • Savings (12%) • Family members (6%) • Other sources (29%), such as SELF program funds, county funds, and nonprofit supports.

19. Barriers ETV recipients’ encountering barriers to accessing support in a postsecondary, including: • Paperwork and “getting things to the correct people” • Isolation during school breaks • Determining who to ask for help • Finding “people who understand how important financial assistance is in furthering your education and making in possible.”  

20. Post-secondary Preparation

21. Foster high aspirations • Have high academic expectations • Help students take charge of their education by engaging them in case planning/allowing them to drive planning • Listen to youth’s hopes for their future • Encourage students to connect career dreams with educational plans • Introduce students to educational and career role models

22. Long term planning Identify team members to assist youth, grades 7th–12th, with post-secondary planning by: • Assessing students academic strengths/needs • Monitoring students grades/credits • Identifying educational gaps in math/reading • Providing assistance to improve academic performance/skills and make up credits • Maintaining school stability • Collecting documents needed for post-secondary admission

23. Long term planning • Making sure that students enroll in challenging classes leading to graduation • Actively involving students in planning • Connecting students to post-secondary preparation programs (TRiO/Upward Bound) • Helping students explore options at college fairs, school tours, post-secondary guides • Holding IL group meetings at colleges • Discussing post-secondary planning at IEP, OHPP and ILP meetings

25. Resources Planning: • Post-secondary preparation timeline • TRiO Programs: Assist low-income and first generation youth/adults to enroll in and complete a post-secondary program. • ACT/SAT waivers: See ETV website Paying: • Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) • Tuition waivers • Child Welfare Scholars program • Scholarship search websites • Education and Training Voucher (ETV) program

26. Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), www.fafsa.ed.gov/ • Apply after January 1 for federal/state financial aid, grants, work-study, loans, some private aid. • Students are considered independent if they were a state ward or in foster care after age 13 or older. Schools may request a court order. Tuition Waiver • Students may have their tuition waived if they are a state ward, and in an undergraduate program, and under age 21. • Contact schools to find out if they offer tuition waivers • Schools my request a court order.

27. Child Welfare Scholars Program • Social worker students interested in a career in public child protection/child welfare may be eligible for grant money to assist in tuition payments/other student related fees. • Schools offering the program: Moorhead State University, Bemidji State University, Mankato State, St. Cloud State and Winona State. Scholarships: See the ETV website • Foster Care to Success (formerly Orphan Foundation) • FosterClub • All scholarships offered by Minnesota institutions • Minority scholarships • Scholarship search websites

28. ETV Program • Federal program that provides up to $5,000/year current/former foster care youth, and youth who have left foster care after age 16 for adoption or a transfer of their physical and legal custody to a relative/kin to attend accredited colleges. • ETV is available in all states. • Recipients can attend school in MN and out-of-state. They are not eligible for the MN State Grant/tuition wavier if attending schools outside of MN. • Must be eligible to apply for and receive financial aid. • The ETV award year is July 1-June 30 each year. • 2012: Minnesota received from the federal government $550,512 (14% decrease from 2011).

29. ETV Program Data

30. Foster Care Data Youth in foster care ages 17-18: • Under the permanent custody to the agency (formerly long term foster care) = 557 • Under the guardianship of the commissioner of human services (state wards) = 61

31. ETV Program Goals Prepare students in foster care for post-secondary educational success by providing: • ETV program information • Information on preparing, choosing and paying for college • Funding resources • Campus-based supports • Coordination between child welfare and post-secondary education staff

32. Questions to Consider • Have there been consistent stability and opportunity in their education to prepare them for college? • What will they need to be prepared? • Who will support them in achieving their educational goals now and in the future?

33. Program Contacts • Jill Von Holtum, ETV Program Manager, Minnesota Department of Human Services, jill.von.holtum@state.mn.us or 651-431-4663 • Angela Mateski, Youth Program Manager, Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota-Willmar, Angela.Mateski@lssmn.org or 320-231-7075