Thursday, April 26, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Free College Tuition at OR Colleges for Former Foster Youth
Most of us will agree that for former foster youth or those near
to aging out of foster care, a college education can be a wonderful stepping
stone for future success. However, only 2.5% of former foster youth earn a
bachelor's degree, compared to 19% of the general population, according to Oregon FosterYouth Connection,
a program of Children First for Oregon.
However, thanks to recent Oregon Legislature, paying for college
tuition for former foster youth is now easier than ever. A new Oregon law in place grants tuition and fee waivers to
foster care youth at Oregon
community colleges and public universities.
According to the Oregon FosterYouth Connection,
"The Oregon Legislature passed this law to address the unique needs of
foster youth. They wanted to send a message to these young adults—if you have
the grades, the motivation, and the dream to go to college, YOU CAN."
In order to receive the fee waiver, youth will need to
complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), making sure to
select the box indicating that the student was a ward of the court. The fee waiver
will apply to any balance leftover after Pell Grants, Oregon Opportunity
Grants, and other financial aid is applied. Eligible students will be
contacted by the Oregon Department of Human Services.
Recipients must meet certain requirements, such as completion
of 30 hours of community service each year they receive the waiver. Foster youth
and former youth must also have spent 12 or more months in foster care between
the ages of 16 and 21, then apply for the tuition waiver within 3 years of
leaving foster care or completing high school/GED, whichever comes first.
If you're interested in receiving more information,
including easy-to-read fact sheets, FAQ's, and instructions for applying, the
following sites have a wealth of information for parents and prospective recipients.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Family Finding
"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one." ~Jane Howard
Families come in all shapes and sizes but there is no denying the impact they have on our lives. They are there for you during your highs and lows in life. Unfortunately not all children are fortunate enough to have caring and supportive families and often times these same kids end up in foster care.
Too often kids that enter into the foster care system loose connections to any family members, friends or important persons from their lives before they entered the system. This is why family finding programs such as the ones run by our organization are so important. Our family finding program aims to help keep children in contact with people who were in their life before they entered foster care. Such as extended family members, teachers, coaches, etc. Case workers for these children do try and reach out to these children's families but they are usually more focused on finding placements. Our program serves as an extra means of support for both the case workers and the children. We focus on finding extended family members and friends that will serve as a support system for the kids, not necessarily to find a placement for them.
We instituted our program the year we were founded. It is modeled after the Family Finding program by Kevin Campbell founder of the Seneca Center. He created the strategy in 1999 and since then has inspired and helped many other organizations to implement similar programs such as the United Nations.
Here is a video that explains more about the family finding program at A Family For Every Child:
Too often kids that enter into the foster care system loose connections to any family members, friends or important persons from their lives before they entered the system. This is why family finding programs such as the ones run by our organization are so important. Our family finding program aims to help keep children in contact with people who were in their life before they entered foster care. Such as extended family members, teachers, coaches, etc. Case workers for these children do try and reach out to these children's families but they are usually more focused on finding placements. Our program serves as an extra means of support for both the case workers and the children. We focus on finding extended family members and friends that will serve as a support system for the kids, not necessarily to find a placement for them.
We instituted our program the year we were founded. It is modeled after the Family Finding program by Kevin Campbell founder of the Seneca Center. He created the strategy in 1999 and since then has inspired and helped many other organizations to implement similar programs such as the United Nations.
Here is a video that explains more about the family finding program at A Family For Every Child:
Other organizations that use similar family finding programs include the Children's Home Society in Charlotte N.C, EMQ Families First of California and the Children Service Society of Wisconsin. The Duke Endowment is also helping organizations in North Carolina by putting more than $3 million dollars towards research for family finding programs.
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