The Problem

Students who have been in foster care experience disruptions to their education. Entering foster care often means changing schools. Youth are routinely out of school for weeks at a time when they change schools, sometimes their credits are not transferred to the new school, and coming to a new school is a major adjustment- socially and academically. Additionally, when youth enter foster care or move to a new foster home, it is a major life change, which can make it hard to focus on anything but the worry and pain they are feeling at that time. Overwhelmed by these feelings, youth are unable to focus in school. Compounding this, there is evidence youth in foster youth who attend group homes are given psychotropic medication at disproportionately high rates (Zetlin et al., 2006). There is also evidence of historical discrimination: youth in foster care with grades similar to their peers not being placed in college prep courses, and schools denying foster youth enrollment (Pecora et al., 2006). While 80% of youth in foster care say they want to attend college, less than 10% earn a college degree of any kind (Harris et al., 2009). The number of student in foster care graduating from college remains low, even when compared with other disadvantaged groups (Martin and Jackson, 2002).

There is Hope!

Even though youth experience problems with their schooling because of foster care, several hundred students who have been in foster care attend Butte College! In California and the United States, there are thousands more students who have been in foster care at Community Colleges and Universities. Inspiring Scholars is designed to help current and former foster youth get into college, stay in college, and reach their academic goals- be that an associate's degree or transfer to another college or university.