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Webinar February 14 - SB 12: Increasing Pell Grant Receipt Among Foster Youth
While California’s foster care system has made important strides in the last five years for older youth in foster care, one area where the child welfare system continues to struggle is post-secondary achievement among older youth. By age 26, just 4 percent of former foster youth have achieved a college degree as compared to 36 percent of the same-age population of young adults.
A key reason for poor college achievement among foster youth is that they do not receive the financial aid to which they are entitled: a recent report found just 50% received the federal Pell Grant, even though upwards of 85% qualify.
On Tuesday, February 14th from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., John Burton Advocates for Youth will host a web seminar about Senate Bill 12, authored by Senator Jim Beall. SB 12 would improve college outcomes for foster youth by increasing access to the Pell Grant, the nation’s largest federal financial aid program. To register for the web seminar, follow this LINK.
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Priority Registration Expansion Effective January 1, 2017
The new year brought with it the implementation of new laws passed during the 2016 legislative cycle. Included in this were two new laws that went into effect as of January 1 related to priority registration for both foster and homeless youth. Senate Bill 906 (Beall) expanded the definition of foster youth for the purposes of priority registration eligibility to include students who were in care at any point after the age of 16 and who are no older than 25 at the commencement of the academic year. In addition, Assembly Bill 801 (Bloom) made homeless youth also eligible for this benefit. Newly qualified students are encouraged to contact the Admissions and Records office at their campus or the foster youth liaison for more information about how to access this benefit. |
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Foster Youth Survey: Help Improve Access to Financial Aid by Sharing Your Experience
John Burton Advocates for Youth is sponsoring legislation to improve access to the Pell Grant for foster youth and is asking foster youth currently or previously enrolled in either community college or university to complete a brief survey to help inform this effort. Only 50% of foster youth in California receive this critical form of financial aid, even though almost all foster youth are eligible. Senate Bill 12 will make it easier for foster youth to access the Pell grant by ensuring foster youth get more help applying for financial aid, streamlining the verification process and increasing the number of campus support programs for foster youth. In order to help this legislation to be successful, JBAY is looking from input directly from foster youth who have attended college. Foster youth can complete the short survey about their experience with financial aid by following THIS LINK. Survey responses are requested no later than January 31. |
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Webinar January 25: Implementation of Resource Family Approval: Overview of policies, best practices, and new tools to help relatives navigate the new system
On January 1, 2017 California began implementation of its Continuum of Care Reform (CCR). Under CCR, relatives and non-relatives alike will have to go through a new process to be approved as a caregiver for a child in foster care. The new system, known as Resource Family Approval, ensures that all caregivers are held to the same standards and receive the same training, supports, services and funding. Relatives, who are critical to the success of CCR, also may encounter the greatest barriers in navigating the RFA process because most relatives begin caring for children in a moment of crisis and prior to being approved. These individuals and families are navigating the new rules and requirements while simultaneously caring for traumatized children.
The Step Up Coalition will be hosting a webinar on January 25, 2017 from 10AM-12PM highlighting key information about RFA, best practices for supporting families through the process, and a new Toolkit to provide relatives and other caregivers access to easy-to-understand information, tools and resources to help them navigate the approval process. Follow this link to register for the webinar.
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I Can Afford College Campaign Offers Resources to Assist with Financial Aid Access
The priority deadline for college financial aid, March 2, is fast approaching. The “I Can Afford College” campaign is a statewide, financial aid awareness initiative managed by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office to educate current and prospective students about the availability of financial aid at California’s community colleges to help make students’ higher education dreams a reality.
Financial aid – such as fee waivers, grants, scholarships, work study programs and loans – is available now and can help foster youth to pay for fees, books, supplies and living expenses. Since the campaign launched in April 2004, more than four million people have visited the icanaffordcollege.com website and the number of community college students receiving some type of financial aid has increased by 90.7 percent.
The website, icanaffordcollege.com, offers detailed financial aid information and links to begin the application process, get connected with local colleges’ financial aid offices, and find financial aid workshops where students can receive free one-on-one assistance completing the applications. Individuals who do not have Internet access can call 1-800-987-ICAN (4226). Social media users can also connect with the the campaign on Facebook, at www.facebook.com/icanaffordcollege, Twitter @icanafrdcollege, and Instagram at icanaffordcollege.
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Childcare for Parents in College: A State-by-State Assessment
By age 21, over one in three young women in foster care in California will have given birth, creating an imperative for the availability of affordable childcare if these young women are to have access to post-secondary education. A newly published briefing paper from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research titled Child Care for Parents in College: A State-by-State Assessment analyzes data from the U.S. Department of Education on childcare availability for student-parents across the nation. The report describes the impact of access to childcare with one study finding that parents who used childcare at community college were nearly three times more likely to graduate or go on to pursue a B.A. within 3 years of enrollment than those who did not. Despite the growing need for student parent supports however, the availability of child care has declined nationwide.
California ranks among the best states for childcare availability on community colleges and public four-year university campuses with 83% of colleges and universities have childcare facilities available. Unlike many other states, California does not require students to work in order to qualify for state-funded child care subsidies or impose time limits, however subsidies are limited to those students pursuing a technical degree or certificate that leads directly to a trade. The lack of access to childcare subsidies while pursuing a more advanced degree can jeopardize the future earning power and financial security for these students. Finally, even where childcare is available, facilities typically have long waiting lists and the number of state funded subsidies is inadequate to meet the need of all low-income students. This study supports the need to expand child care subsidies as well as broaden eligibility requirements for foster youth to support their ability to pursue and succeed in postsecondary education. To read the full brief, click here.
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All County Letter Issued: Utilizing Title IV-E Funding to Support County Foster Youth Services Coordinating Programs
The California Department of Social Services issued an All County Letter (ACL 16-91) offering guidance to Foster Youth Services Coordinating Programs (FYSCP) regarding the protocol for leveraging federal Title IV-E funding to support their programs. AB 854, which went into effect on January 1, 2016, requires FYSCPs to enter into an MOU with their child welfare agency to leverage funds, where appropriate, to draw down Title IV-E dollars. In many cases, certain "administrative services" such as referral to services, case plan development, case reviews, case management and supervision qualify for federal reimbursement and leveraging of these dollars can expand the total pool of resources available to serve foster youth within FYSCPs. The ACL includes a sample MOU to assist counties in accessing Title IV-E funding for eligible activities.
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