Welcome

Welcome
John William Tuohy lives in Washington DC

Aged Out: Foster kids getting through college


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.”