Magazine Feature

Toolkit for “Fostering Allies”

This toolkit accompanies the Summer 2013 article “Fostering Allies,” and provides professional-development support to educators and school staff who work with students in foster care. 

Did you know?

  • Children in foster care spend an average of 28.6 months in the system.
  • Although rates of abuse or neglect are similar across racial and ethnic lines, there are more children of color in the foster-care system relative to their percentage of the general population.
  • Only 54 percent of young people in foster care have received a high school diploma by the time they transition out of the foster-care system.
  • Only 2 percent of foster-care alumni obtain a bachelor’s degree or higher during transition from care to adulthood.

Even more than other students, children in foster care need additional mentors and supportive adults in their lives to help them successfully navigate the transition to adulthood. Below are some resources and tips to help students in foster care make the transition from high school to college or to careers.

 

TIP

Students in foster care might need additional help and guidance in their college search and application process, as they may not have other adults to support them. If possible, make yourself available to help them register for the SAT, apply for fee waivers, spend time researching colleges, edit their college applications and fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).

RESOURCE

Foster Care to Success is a national nonprofit organization that helps students in foster care access and navigate their path to college. It provides a number of scholarships for young people in the foster-care system. If you have high school students who are or were in foster care, you can refer them to this list of scholarship opportunities.

 

TIP

Send care packages to your former students who were in foster care while they’re in college, to let them know that someone is thinking about them and to remind them of their support network.

RESOURCE

Foster Care to Success also runs a program called InternAmerica, which connects foster-care alumni with meaningful internships and career-training resources.

RESOURCE

Foster Care Alumni of America is a nonprofit organization that is run by and for alumni of the foster-care system. Its mission is to provide opportunities for children who are or were in foster care to connect with each other, share their stories and become their own advocates. For an annual fee of $20, alumni can participate in the online communities, receive a quarterly newsletter and participate in advocacy campaigns.

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