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Update on How to Show Your Support for AB 2506
As reported in last week’s JBF newsletter, Assembly Member Tony Thurmond has introduced Assembly Bill 2506, which would improve access to the Chafee Education and Training Voucher (Chafee ETV), the only dedicated form of financial aid for foster youth. AB 2506 would entitle all eligible students who apply for a Chafee ETV to receive a grant if they apply by a specific deadline. It would also prohibit the use of the Chafee ETV at post-secondary institutions that do not meet specific graduation and loan repayment rates.
Contrary to previous reporting, AB 2506 will be heard first by the Assembly Education Committee. The John Burton Foundation has provide updated information regarding where to direct a letter of support for the bill on the JBF website.
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A new web portal is now available specifically for community college students seeking mental health resources. This resource is designed to connect students to relevant information about mental health promotion and awareness from the California Community College Student Mental Health Program (SHMP) and Each Mind Matters. The page will be updated regularly to feature news, upcoming events, and resources of interest to California community college students.
To visit the new SMHP student resource page follow this LINK.
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NASPA Blog Features Thoughts from JBF Team Member
NASPA, the national association for Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education recently published a blog post written by the John Burton Foundation’s Deborah Pruitt. Deborah, who was recently hired to assist with the development of the CCP CAFYES Learning Community, wrote from her experience as an adjunct professor in the Peralta Community College system about the frequent disconnect between student services and college faculty.
The post offers tips for how to support faculty to better understand both the role of student services and the students in their classrooms. This includes creating opportunities for instructional faculty and student services faculty and staff to work together, providing orientations and training for faculty and providing language for faculty to include on their syllabi directing students on where to get help. To read the post, follow this LINK.
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New Video - The Well-Being Journey for Young Adults
The Foster Care Work Group of the Youth Transitions Funders Group (YTFG) recently released a new video titled The Well-Being Journey for Young Adults. The video features foster youth speaking frankly about their experiences in care and strategies that they have used to support their own well-being. The video is a compliment to the YTFG well-being investment framework, which highlights the various domains of well-being and the role of families, communities, and public systems in supporting well-being. It also includes a series of concrete and actionable recommendations for youth system leaders, policymakers, and public and private funders for improving policy and practice to support the well-being of youth who are transitioning to adulthood. To view the video, follow this LINK.
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New Research Offers Recommendations for Post-Secondary Success for Students with Disabilities
New research from the Institute of Education Science examines why completion rates for students with disabilities remain stagnant even while more of them pursue post-secondary education. Because students in foster care are twice as likely to be identified as having a disability than other students, this is especially relevant to foster youth. The research found that two thirds of students who received disability-related services in high school did not disclose their disability to their post-secondary institutions, fewer than half of students with disabilities in college accessed the types of supports available to the general student body, and less than one-quarter received disability-specific services.
The research also found however that students with disabilities who received supports, in particular general supports such as tutoring and access to writing and study centers are more likely to complete their post-secondary programs. Broad outreach to foster youth about supports available is essential in order to help to reach those students who have not chosen to disclose their disability. In addition, the research found that students with transition plans from high school are more likely to access supports. High school based programs for foster youth should emphasize transition planning that specifies needed post-secondary supports and accommodations. To read an interview with the researchers click here.
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