Transcript Disconnected Youth and Higher Education

Disconnected Youth and Higher
Education
Definitions, Resources, Services,
Practices, Barriers for Youth in Foster
Care, State Wards, Guardianships and
Unaccompanied Minors
Case Studies
Case studies for group discussion about
disconnected youth who want to receive
financial aid to pay for higher education
Case Study 1
• Tawanda is a 20 year old sophomore who was
raised in foster care from the age of 6. She has
been disconnected from her social worker since
she graduated from high school and is not
receiving any additional resources.
• What barriers might she face?
• What definition of disconnected youth best fits
her?
• What resources [support and financial] may be
available to her?
Case study 2
• Monique is an 18 year old incoming freshmen
who was homeless during her Senior year in high
school. She worked closely with Youth Link ( a
homeless shelter for youth), but was not in foster
care.
• What definition of disconnected youth best fits
her?
• Whose financial information is required for the
FAFSA?
• What documentation might she need?
Case Study 3
• Celeste is a junior in college. She was removed
from her home and has lived in foster homes
since she was in the 4th grade. She has been
under the guardianship of human services since
parental rights were terminated by the court due
to a history of abuse in the home.
• What documentation might she need?
• What definition of disconnected youth best fits
her?
• What resources are available to her?
Case Study 4
• Mike is an incoming freshman who has been
living with his foster parents for 1 year. At the
age of 17 they officially adopted him.
• What resources are available to him?
• Is his adoptive parent’s information required
on the FAFSA?
Case Study 5
• Jane is an incoming freshman who moved with her parent’s
consent to Minnesota from Florida in order to obtain better
economic and educational opportunities. She lives with
her uncle and has attended a Minnesota high school for the
past two years. Jane speaks with her parents occasionally
and has only been back to visit once for a week over spring
break just after moving to Minnesota.
• Is Jane a disconnected youth? If yes (Address the other
items)
• What definition of disconnected youth best fits her?
• What documentation might she need?
• What resources are available for her?
Case study 6
• Greg is 19 and has been attending college for a year. He is
attempting to file his FAFSA for the new school year and tells the
financial aid office that his mother was just sent to prison for the
next year for committing fraud. He also states the last time he had
contact with his father was at the trial of his mother’s fraud case.
When asked by the aid administrator about his living situation Greg
states he lives in a house he shares with several roommates. He
used his mother’s information on his previous years FAFSA
application.
• Is Greg a disconnected youth? If yes (Address the other items)
• What definition of disconnected youth best fits Greg?
• What documentation might Greg need?
• What resources are available for Greg?
Case study 7
• Maria is an 18 year old incoming freshmen. Her
mother is deceased and her father was deported
to Columbia when she was 8. She is an American
Citizen and was raised by her siblings (the oldest
of who was 20 at the time their father was
deported). She has no social worker.
• What definition of disconnected youth best fits
her?
• What documentation might she need?
• What resources are available to her?
Case Study 8
• Jon and Nils are incoming freshmen and Eastern
European immigrants with green cards. They have
been in the U.S. 4 years, attended and graduated from
a Minnesota high school, and lived with their uncle in
suburban Minneapolis since they were 14. Their
parents are in New York, but Jon and Nils have never
lived there.
• What definition of disconnected youth best fits her?
• Whose financial information is required for the
FAFSA?
• What documentation might they need?
Scope of Foster Youth in Higher
Education
• Over 500,000 children and Youth are in foster
care in the United States
• Over 20,000 young adults age out of state foster
care systems annually.
• 70 Percent foster youth ASPIRE to attend college
• 7 to 13 percent of foster youth enroll in Post
secondary education
• Approximately 2 percent earn bachelor degrees
• 7 percent earn a Certificate or AA degree
Minnesota Foster Youth in Higher
Education Working Group
• Genesis
• Meeting summer 2010 convened by U of MN Twin cities financial
aid/TRIO/Student Support Services-including state and county
human services, community and secondary education agencies.
• Evolved into ongoing broad based multi-sector working group
• Goal- Improve coordination and communication, reduce barriers to
better serve foster youth in higher education
• Leadership- Minnesota Minority Education Partnership, U of MN
Twin Cities TRIO and student support services, U of MN TC College
of education and Human Development/School of Social Work and
Minnesota Department of Human Services Adolescent Services unit
Minnesota Foster Youth in Higher
Education Working Group
• Participants, Hennepin/Ramsey Counties Human Services,
St. Paul Public Schools, Lutheran Social Services, MN Office
of Higher Education, Itasca County Community
Development, YWCA, foster parents, Indian Child Welfare,
MN TRIO Programs, Community Education volunteers,
Gustavus Adolphus Student Financial Aid, College of
Education and Human Development Center for Advanced
Studies in Child Welfare- school of social work
• Working Groups
-Research
-Training
-Communications and Collaboration
-Outreach and Awareness
Increasing Emphasis on Foster Youth
and Higher Education
• McKinney/Vento Homeless Assistance Act of
1987 as amended in 2002
– State educational services for homeless and youth at
risk of being homeless
• 2003 Education and Training Voucher
Provides funds to foster care youth to attend postsecondary education
• 2008 Reauthorization of the Federal Higher
Education Act of 1965-Title IV
-FAFSA
-TRIO Subpart
Increasing Emphasis on Foster Youth
and Higher Education
• 2008 Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing
Adoptions Act
– Federal matching payments for continuing foster care from age
18-21
– Students adopted at age 13 through age 17 parental information
not needed on the FAFSA
• January 14, 2013 Uninterrupted Scholars Act (Public Law
112-278)
– Amends the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
to allow child welfare agencies and educational institutions to
share information when working on behalf of students in foster
care. Full bill can be found at www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW112publ278/pdf/PLAW-112publ278.pdf
Foster Youth and Student Financial Aid
• Higher Education Act Amendments of 2008
– Added Independent Student Status Eligibility for
students at age 13 who have both parents deceased,
in foster care or made a ward of the court
– Students who are deemed emancipated minors by a
court in the state of legal residence before attaining
the age of majority
– Students who were placed in legal guardianship by a
court in their state of legal residence before attaining
the age of majority
Foster Youth and Student Financial Aid
• Higher Education Act Amendments of 2008
• Added early public awareness language of
financial aid eligibility to begin in 2010 in
coordination with:
– States, secondary schools, organizations providing
services to homeless
– Federal early intervention and outreach programs
funded under title IV (TRIO, Upward Bound,
Educational Talent Search, Educational Opportunity
programs and GEAR UP)
How is Foster Care Defined
• Minnesota Statute 206c.007 subdivision 18 defines foster
care as:
– 24 hour substitute care from children placed away from their
parents or guardian and for whom a responsible social services
agency has placement and care responsibility
• Foster care includes, but is not limited to:
– Foster family homes, foster homes of relatives, group homes,
emergency shelters, residential facilities, child care institutions
and pre-adoptive homes
• Foster care does not include placement in:
– Hospitals, inpatient chemical dependency treatment facilities,
facilities for delinquent children, corrections facilities that do
not meet title IV-E determined by the commissioner, forestry
camps or jails
Resources for Foster Youth in Higher
Education
• Education/Training Vouchers up to $5’000 a
year in Minnesota
• Extended Foster Care Financial Support up to
$800 a month in Minnesota
• Independent Status on the Free Application
for Federal Student Aid
• Tuition waiver for students who are/were
wards of the state in Minnesota
Wards of the state tuition waiver
• Students who are defined as wards of the state of
Minnesota are eligible for a tuition waiver. In 1997 the
state legislature gave the authority to the presidents of
MNSCU institutions to waive tuition for students who
were under the guardianship of the commissioner of
human services before age 18. The president may
continue to waive tuition until age 21 and older even
when no longer a ward of the state. A survey in 2012
by the U of MN Center for Advanced Studies in Child
Welfare found some in MNSCU unaware of the waiver
possibility.
• The University of Minnesota uses the waiver as well
Resources for Foster Youth in Higher
Education
Eligible for TRIO Services: Precollege
• Access and outreach through TRIO Upward
Bound, Educational Talent Search and
Educational Opportunity Centers
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Career, personal and academic counseling
College visits and application assistance
FAFSA and scholarship application assistance
Tutoring and academic support and enrichment
classes
Resources for Foster Youth in Higher
Education Continued
• College support through TRIO Student Support
Services
– Academic, financial, major advising
– Academic support and tutoring
– Advocacy with the college system
– Community building and cultural events
– Services designed for homeless and foster youth
• Temporary housing over breaks
Challenges to identifying Foster Youth
in Higher Education
• FAFSA ‘skip logic’
• If the student checks yes to has dependents,
children or married, the student will NOT SEE
the question about being in foster care since
turning age 13
• If the student says yes to “I was in foster care
since turning age 13” they will not see
questions about being homeless, emancipated
minor or legal guardianship
Difficulty in identifying Foster Youth in
Higher Education Continued
Admissions Applications
• On all Washington State University Applications:
Ask about foster care
• Financial aid or admission supplements
– U of MN admissions application check box: I have
been in foster care, a state ward, or under the legal
custody of a relative since my sixteenth birthday.
• TRIO/SSS applications
– UMN and Minneapolis Community and Tech College
now has added a question about foster care
Challenges Coordination and
Communication
• No formal communication channels between human services and
financial aid offices
– Student has to self identify
• No formal communications channels between secondary homeless
services and financial aid offices
– Student may be aged out of foster care and be homeless. Student still
must self identify
• No campus single point of contact
– Where should the information go to what office and what people
• Unaccompanied Minors/Homeless Youth
– High School must be aware to provide documentation
• There may be different documentation expectations from college to
college
Challenges continued
• How do foster/homeless youth deal with housing
over breaks? This will be different from school to
school and if they offer on campus housing or
not.
• What other services do we as FAA’s need to be
aware of in our communities to assist foster or
homeless youth?
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Shelter
Health care
Food
Clothing
Minnesota Foster Youth and Education
Training Vouchers
• 2012-2013 Minnesota has 198 foster youth
attending college and receiving ETV
• Minnesota ETV recipients attend 70 different
Post Secondary Education institutions:
– ETV recipients attend 58 different schools in MN
and 12 in other states
– ETV recipients attend all levels from cosmetology
schools through two and four year public and
private colleges and the University of Minnesota
Minnesota Foster Youth and Education
Training Vouchers
• ETV recipients in Minnesota Private Colleges (16
students in 2012-2013)
– Augsburg 8 students (most in MN private colleges)
– Minneapolis Community and Technical College 15
students (most in MN )
• MN state Colleges and Universities-Four Year
Colleges (16 students in 2012-2013)
• University of Minnesota (13 students in 20122013)
– Twin Cities 7 (most in UM campuses)
Foster Youth and TRIO
• Higher Education Act Amendments of 2008
• Add foster youth to eligibility language for UB, ETS,
EOC and SSS:
– Foster care youth including youth in foster care after age
13 or are aging out of foster care
– Homeless Children and Youth as defined in McKinneyVento Homeless Assistance Act
• Added permissible services to student support
services:
– Securing temporary housing during breaks
– Services specially designed for homeless and foster youth
What other states are doing
• Washington state has a law mandating
coordination and providing financial
assistance
• Iowa Preparation for Adult Living Program
– http://www.dhs.state.ia.us/docs/2012-Offer-401HHS-008-Successful-Transition-to-AdulthoodNarrative.pdf
• Wisconsin-unclear if approved extended foster
care due to budget issues
Additional Information
• http://www.chapinhall.org/sites/default/files/publicati
ons/Midwest_IB2_Homelessness.pdf
• Minnesota ETV website: http://mn.gov/dhs/, click on
People We Serve, Children and Families, Services,
Adolescent services, Education and training vouchers
for more information on the ETV program and the
changes
• http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED503289.pdf
– Article summarizes interviews done by Casey Family
Programs with 8 former foster youth who recently
graduated from college and discusses 15 major themes
related to college success and life outlook
References
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Ammerman, S., Ensign, J., Kirzner, R., Meininger, E., Tornabene, M., Warf, C. Zerger, S., & Post, P. (2004). Homeless young adults ages 18–24:
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Where to go from here
• Keep up the GREAT work you all do to serve
students !!
• Develop strong relationships with your
admissions, student support and or TRIO offices
to help identify these students
• Work with community leaders and partners to
enhance community support services or help
create them if needed
• Find out what is working with your institution
• Share your knowledge