Fostering Lions program to
support foster youths on Penn State's campus
According to the National Foster
Youth Institute, about half of children raised in the foster care system finish
high school. Additionally, less than 3 percent graduate from a four-year
college.
To combat this issue, the
Fostering Lions program launched at Penn State in the fall of 2018 with the
intent of supporting foster youth at the university. Although the program is in
its beginning stages, its goal is to operate fully at Penn State’s 20 campuses.
The program focuses on four key
areas — financial aid, academic and career planning, social and emotional
support, and logistics.
For many foster youths, the
biggest roadblock when it comes to getting higher education is financial aid. Many
students don’t have the necessary information to navigate grants, scholarships
and other financial resources.
One of Fostering Lions’ main
priorities is to help students utilize these resources so they can obtain their
degree and have a positive college experience.
Cheri McConnell, the program
coach for Fostering Lions, works with each of the students individually to
ensure their success, well-being and comfort on campus.
“This program is not only just
navigating Penn State and its resources,” McConnell said, “it’s also working
with their independent living coordinators, being a contact for their foster
families, and being a liaison to their guardian ad litem which is the attorney
that every foster youth gets assigned.”
The program runs a monthly seminar
series, in which someone from campus talks to students about topics ranging
from financial literacy to student conduct to Counseling and Psychological
Services (CAPS). These seminars and other Fostering Lions events always provide
meals to the students involved, as food insecurity can be a large issue for
foster youth attending college.
In addition to the seminars,
there are social events planned each semester where students get to leave
campus and socialize with each other.
Students are also highly encouraged
to meet with McConnell on a monthly basis — however, they can meet with her as
many times as they desire. A pivotal part of the program is being a figure that
these students can trust and confide in.
“Lunch will be provided. [At the
meetings] I’ll ask them, ‘Do you have your schedule? Are you seeing your
advisor? Are you having trouble in any of your classes and need tutoring?’”
McConnell said. “’And how are you doing? Do you have laundry detergent to wash
your clothes and shampoo to wash your hair?’”
McConnell’s office includes a
plethora of snacks and toiletries available for students who need them. She
emphasized that these students don’t always have a support system to help
supply them with basic necessities, so part of her job is filling that role.
“Some students might not go to
class because they’re lazy or they don’t want to, but I could potentially have
a student not going to class because they don’t have clean clothes,” McConnell
said.
Lucy Johnston-Walsh, an attorney
that represents foster youth, has been involved with the program prior to its
establishment. Through her litigation work, she’s seen firsthand the struggles
these students face while transitioning to life in college.
“I’ve been really impressed with
how small obstacles can really interfere with a student’s ability to remain in
college,” Johnston-Walsh said. “One issue is that foster kids don’t always have
a place to go during semester breaks. Through Fostering Lions, they could make
connections and the dorms may be able to stay open for them like they do for
other students, such as athletes or international students.”
Aqaveon Jackson is a student with
experience in the foster care system and a part of the Fostering Lions program.
His experience in the program has helped him with his financial aid. Specifically,
Pennsylvania’s Chafee Education and Training Program offers federal grants for
college students coming out of the foster care system.
“The Chafee came out and there
was an issue with it because I was from a different county, so we talked about
it and she told me she would help figure out the issues and she did,” Jackson
(freshman- criminology and psychology) said. “Cheri has been so helpful for all
of us that have been in or currently are in the foster care system. In this
process she’s helped us so much and has always been there for us.”
According to McConnell, during
the 2018-19 academic year, financial aid verified that 50 Penn State students
were foster youth. This number, however, only shows students who correctly
filled out the FAFSA and labeled themselves as foster youth.
On a campus with more than 40,000
students, it’s important to recognize that foster youth are among the student
body and want the same from their Penn State experience as do their peers.
“They are kids just like you,
with the same interests and needs and desire to obtain an education. They just,
unfortunately, face many more obstacles in their life than most kids and they
have come from traumatic backgrounds,” Johnston-Walsh said. “Just because
they’ve had a difficult background doesn’t mean they’re that different. They
just need a little more support along the way.”