Foster parents' support and advocacy for foster youths' college readiness: A narrative study

ABSTRACT Foster Parents' Support and Advocacy for Foster Youths' College Readiness: A Narrative Study By Cynthia Brown From a foster parent viewpoint, this narrative study explores and describes foster parents' detailed accounts, life experiences, and personal stories. Foster parental roles were explored, including parental involvement and advocacy for foster youths' college readiness. Participants reflected on their life experiences to provide real accounts of their stories. Family Systems Theory and Trauma Theory were used as the theoretical frameworks for the study. Values about education and attending college were discussed with participants. Interviews and a demographic questionnaire were used to conduct research with this select group of participants. Research questions that guided this study are: (1) What are the experiences and perceptions of foster parents about their caregiver roles including involvement and advocacy? (2) How do foster parents advocate for their foster youth? (3) What are the foster parents' experiences with college readiness, in general, and specifically relative to the foster youths in their care who are approaching emancipation? (4) What are the perceptions of foster youth about their educational barriers and their educational aspirations