Fostering toward higher education in Virginia

At the age of 18, many foster care children in Virginia “age out” of the system.

They are considered adults and have the opportunity to either stay with their foster care families or take advantage of the independent living program, which starts well before they turn 18 and prepares foster care children with the tools to become self-sufficient.

They actually “age out” of the independent living program at 21.

During these vital, formative years, Germanna Community College is also providing valuable educational opportunities for at-risk young adults to transition into college and/or a career through the Great Expectations program.

This initiative consists of a two-day on-campus program, as well as a six-month mentorship program for foster care children aging out of the system.

The free program will be held at the community college’s Fredericksburg Campus in Spotsylvania on Sept. 17 and Oct. 8 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Great Expectations program provides students with the opportunity to:

» Learn about Germanna’s programs of study
» Receive guidance in making choices on college and/or career
» Learn about Germanna’s support services
» Get personal attention on the admission process
» Receive information about financial aid available for foster care youth
» Learn how to write a resume
» Meet their Germanna student mentor
» Attend college classes

Germanna spokesman Mike Zitz added that these students will also participate in a long list of activities such as attending a Washington Nationals baseball game, go-karting, picnics, bowling, movie nights, etc.

After finishing the non-credit course, students will receive a certificate of completion.

Obtaining independence

As of Aug. 1, there were 38 children (23 males and 15 females) in the foster care system in Culpeper, according to Lisa Peacock, director of  Culpeper Human Services.

There were 12 foster care children in Culpeper between the ages of 16 and 18. Additionally, there were two over the age of 19 in the local system.

While in their early-to-mid teens, foster care children have the option of participating in the independent living program where a social worker will provide them with the essential skills it takes to transition from foster care into self-sufficient living.

“It’s all those things you do as a parent to get your child ready to go out into the world,” Peacock said.

Peacock added that foster care children in the independent living program are well aware of the higher education opportunities.

“In Virginia, if you’re a foster care child your secondary education is paid for through the foster care program,” said Peacock. “(The Great Expectations) program was started to encourage at-risk youth — particularly foster care children — to go on to college.”

Peacock also added that there are certain rules that older foster care children must follow in order to reap the benefits of an independence program.

The benefits may include help with getting an apartment, purchasing a vehicle or understanding insurance.

Culpeper social worker Kathy Ghigliotty will typically discuss higher education opportunities as well as independent living options with local foster care children “aging out” of the system.

“Kathy is basically the parent to a group of teenagers,” Peacock added.

Maintaining families

This time last year, Culpeper had 61 children in foster care.

“Culpeper is moving towards a system of care approach as part of Virginia’s Children’s Services Transformation,” Peacock explained. “We are keeping more children with their families and wrapping services around them whenever possible, (but) sometimes we must remove children permanently for safety reasons. So our foster care prevention caseload has increased.”

According to Peacock, the transformation process is a statewide philosophy of care that applies the best practice models and increases family-based placements.

“The purpose and mission is to strengthen permanent family connections for children and youth by transforming how services are delivered to them and their families. We want to devote more resources to community based care, increase the number and rate at which our foster care children move into permanent family arrangements, and increase the number of placements of at risk children with family members (sometimes called kinship care) and trained foster parents.

“We also want to strengthen the voice of the youth in foster care. It is a move to improve the use of data as a management tool,” added Peacock.

Beating the odds

Zitz describes aging out of the foster care system as a critical time for at-risk youth.

“They must try to work through seemingly immense changes without a parent, family member or mentor to guide them,” he said. “When foster (care) youth fail to make the transition successfully, it can have devastating consequences not only for those youth, but for their communities. The statistics are grim for foster youth who age out of the system without any type of support.”

According to the Virginia Community College System, more than 25 percent of foster care youth will be incarcerated within two years after leaving the system and 54 percent will become homeless or end up in an unstable living situation.

The odds are also stacked against them when it comes to pursuing a higher education.

Less than 2 percent of foster care children earn a college degree, according to VCCS.

Zitz, however, declares that Germanna’s program is in place to help students that face difficult challenges when pursuing an education.

“Great Expectations increases the likelihood of success for foster (care) youth,” he said. “It helps each foster youth develop an individual path forward. Coaches work with students to navigate college financial and living arrangements, and peer mentors provide support and guidance.”

Total children in foster care in Culpeper as of Aug. 1:

38

Demographics by sex/race:

Male  23 60.5 percent

Female 15 39.5 percent

Black  10 26.3 percent

White  26 68.4 percent

Multi-race 2 5.3 percent

 Age groups:

Under 1  1  2.6 percent

1-5    8  21.1 percent

6-9    6  15.8 percent

10-12    6 15.8 percent

13-15    3  7.9 percent

16-18    12 31.6 percent

19 and over  2 5.3 percent

 Source: Culpeper Human Services

 Germanna Community College is offering the Great Expectations program, a two-day on-campus initiative for at-risk youth aging out of the foster care system to take advantage of college courses and/or career opportunities. For more information call Marcy Farris, coordinator of the Great Expectations program, at 540-834-1066 or write her at Germanna Community College, 10000 Germanna Point Drive, Fredericksburg, VA 22408 or e-mail her at msfarris@germanna.edu.