Maximizing educational opportunities for youth aging out of foster care by engaging youth voices in a partnership for social change

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Abstract

This study examines the challenges faced by youth in foster care who are making the transition from high school to college. Forty-three high school and college students from across the state of Michigan who are or were in foster care spoke before panels of policymakers at two public forums. Transcripts from their testimony were analyzed. Eight main barriers to high school completion and college access were identified. The most frequently cited was a lack of supportive relationships with caring adults. This research demonstrates how the voice of youth in foster care can have an impact on the policies that affect their lives.

Highlights

► The challenges faced by foster care youth in accessing college were examined. ► Eight main barriers to high school completion and college access were identified. ► Most frequently cited need was support from caring adults. ► Shows how youth can serve as collaborators in policy and program planning.

Introduction

Head (2011) and Zeldin, Camino, and Calvert (2003) provide three rationales for giving young people greater voice across a variety of institutional settings and policy arenas: (1) to ensure social justice; (2) to support civic engagement; and (3) to promote positive youth development. The social justice rationale is based on the idea that, in addition to being nurtured and protected, youth have the right to be treated with respect. This includes being involved and consulted in decisions that affect their health and well-being, where appropriate.

The second rationale, civic engagement, reflects a belief that, all members of the community, including youth, should have legitimate opportunities to influence decision-making (Flanagan & Faison, 2001). By bringing their often different and complementary views, experiences, and competencies together, youth and adults can jointly address collective issues.

The third and final rationale grows out of the positive youth development framework. This framework views socio-emotional development as being equal in importance to cognitive development (Sherrod, 2007). Participation in the formulation of public policy is thought to have developmental benefits both for the youth themselves and for society as a whole.

Being given a greater voice in the policy decisions that affect their lives may be especially important for youth in foster care. First, they are the recipients of many publicly funded services. These include not only child welfare services, but also services in the areas of, health, education, housing and employment. Second, youth in foster care are a primary focus of federal and state policies and a frequent target of interventions, and third, youth in foster care can be psychologically harmed by the very systems created to protect them. This harm can result from further exposure to trauma or from being denied an appropriate education or other services.

That said, youth in foster care have rarely been active participants in policy planning or decision-making, in part, because they often lack connections to the requisite institutional structures (Hill, Davis, Prout, & Tisdall, 2004). More recently, however, youth policy forums have begun to provide youth in foster care with structured opportunities to inform the development of national, state and local policies that directly affect them by sharing their experiences and concerns with adults in a position to act on their behalf (Checkoway and Richards-Schuster, 2003, Hill et al., 2004) Michigan's Children, 2010).

Policy forums for youth in foster care can be viewed as part of a larger trend toward greater youth representation and involvement in public policy deliberations across the U.S. (Pittman, 2000). Over the past few decades, a growing number of youth policy forums have been sponsored by national advocacy organizations, including the Forum for Youth Investment and Youth M.O.V.E. These forums put youth on a more equal footing with adults to influence public policy (Zeldin et al., 2003).

Similar forums have been developed on the state-level. One example in the state of Michigan is Kidspeak®. Under the auspices of Michigan's Children, a private nonprofit legislative advocacy organization, Kidspeak® brings young people before listening panels of legislators, state department heads, and other community leaders to talk about issues of concern to them.1 This study is based on testimony given at two such forums held in the summer of 2010. Both focused on barriers to educational success faced by youth in foster care, including challenges associated with the transition from high school to college.

Section snippets

Foster care youth and education

Education is a powerful determinant of quality of life and confers economic, social, civic, and personal benefits (Carnevale and Desrochers, 2003, Joftus, 2002). Having a college degree is associated with better health, more meaningful employment, and higher socioeconomic status (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2009). College graduates earn significantly more, on average, than those with just a high school diploma (Aud et al., 2010, Tierney et al., 2009).

Present study

Although previous studies have documented the low high school completion and college enrollment rates among foster care youth, the voices of young people experiencing or on the cusp of experiencing the transition from high school to college have been conspicuously absent from this research. This exploratory study seeks to address this gap by examining the barriers to completing high school and enrolling in college as perceived by youth in foster care and foster care alumni. A better

Sample

In the summer of 2010, Michigan's Children convened two Kidspeak® forums in partnership Western Michigan University (WMU) and Michigan State University (MSU), respectively.5 The purpose of both events

Findings

Eight major themes emerged from the testimony the 43 Kidspeak® participants gave about barriers that have impeded their educational success. Table 2 lists these themes as well as the number of young people who touched on each in no particular order. Seven of the eight themes could be heard in testimony given at both events. The theme of unsafe schools, which dominated the discussion at the WMU event, was not discussed at the event held at MSU. Although some of these themes have been discussed

Acknowledgment

The important contributions made by others to this research were much appreciated. Thanks and best wishes for a successful future to the young people who participated in the Kidspeak® events at Michigan State University and Western Michigan University. Thanks also to Jack Kresnak, Michele Corey, Gary Anderson, Joan Howarth, Lori Blankenship, & Yvonne Unrau who provided valuable support and assistance.

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      A national survey of campus-based support programs also found that participants stressed the need to address mental health to assist foster care alumni pursuing higher education (Piel et al., 2020). In addition, a qualitative study of youth with foster care experience that explored barriers to their education and enrolling in college emphasized the need for relationships with caring adults and connections with understanding professionals; it also stressed that youths’ mental health concerns and lack of preparation to live independently were barriers to their education (Day et al., 2012). Other studies have also highlighted that mental health and trauma are important to consider in the education of foster youth (Rios & Rocco, 2014; Morton, 2018; Wolanin, 2005).

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