Aging Out and Out of Reach: Foster Care Alumni Who Elected Not to Go to College

Young people who age out of foster care are at a complete disadvantage compared to their peers who were not involved in foster care when it comes to entering higher education. To many, this may come as a contradiction, because it may be erroneously assumed that the foster-care system provides top-quality care; however, the care many children receive is lacking in many areas, including preparation for higher education. Foster-care alumni often never make it to college, as barriers such as lack of funding, lack of support, and insufficient information about higher education block their paths. This study seeks to explore the barriers to entering higher education for foster-care alumni who never made it to college. This study uses a purposive sampling design, recruiting emancipated youth aged 18-25 from four states in the Southeast to share their responses to a student-designed survey about higher education preparation. While data collection is ongoing, it is hypothesized that foster-care alumni will report that opportunities to pursue higher education were limited, because information and resources appeared limited from their perspectives. Findings from this study may illuminate ways that agencies can make resources available to promote higher education for foster-care alumni and combat toxic stereotypes and misconceptions about this population