The Opportunity Gap - Text Version

The Opportunity Gap

Youth with foster care experience are not attending or remaining in college at the same rates as their peers.

  • 84% of foster youth ages 17-18 say they want to go to college (Legal Center for Foster Care & Education, 2022)
  • 3-11% of youth with foster care experience earn a college degree in comparison to the ~38% national average (Legal Center for Foster Care & Education, 2022)
  • 5,000 youth 13-20 in care at any given point in time in Pennsylvania who are eligible for pre-college supports
  • 22 programs currently in operation or development to support youth with foster care experience on college campuses in Pennsylvania
  • 510 youth currently utilizing the Chafee Grant in Pennsylvania — To learn more, visit Chafee Education and Training Grant (Chafee ETG) Program

Call to Action

  • Expand campus supports in Pennsylvania
    • Fund and support designated staff to encourage and provide resources to youth wit foster care experience at more schools
    • Listen to and support existing programs so that they can grow
    • Encourage the provision of year round housing to students in or aged out of foster care
  • Create more college readiness programs for youth in care in Pennsylvania
    • Develop programming for high school students to support the college process (ex. Fostering College Readiness in Phila.)
    • Fund and support college exposure opportunities for high school students (ex. The Andlor Program at Bloomsburg University)
  • Reevaluate tuition waiver and who is eligible for it
    • Expand eligibility of waiver from those who were in care at 16 at the youngest to those who were 14 and older
    • Make the tuition waiver cover the entire cost of attendance and not only tuition
  • Increase training opportunities for professionals working with older youth in care
    • Help professionals find, access and utilize the resources available for youth in care
    • Invest in local and state professional development opportunities, including webinars, seminars and conferences

Pennsylvania can help

The Field Center is a member of the Fostering Academic Achievement Nationwide Network

Graphic created in partnership with FAAN's data advocacy initiative, copyright 2022