Exploring the Career Possible Selves of Students in Foster Care

• In Event: Breaking the Mold of Tradition: A Broader View of Diversity

Abstract

Goals and Objectives
The 2008 reauthorization of The Higher Education Opportunity Act (H.R. 4137) requires TRIO programs to prioritize students in foster care for all their programs which support at-risk junior high and high school students to graduate from high school, enter college, and complete their degrees. These programs include Talent Search, Upward Bound, Student Support Services, Educational Opportunity Centers, Staff Development Activities, and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR-UP). Students experiencing homelessness or in foster care are at great risk of academic failure due to their extreme poverty and residential instability, yet, prior to this reauthorization, they were not specifically mentioned or targeted by any of the TRIO programs.

Each year over 24,000 young adults age-out of the foster care system, representing the most ethnically diverse and vulnerable population of young adults who transition into adulthood. Many experience the poorest outcomes including substance use, unemployment, homelessness, and incarceration. This project provides a window into the barriers and supports students in foster care are experiencing. As TRIO funded programs prioritize this population they must also provide specific and unique services to these students to ensure their success in post-secondary outcomes. Career development strategies, school counselor collaboration, interventions, and recommended resources will be discussed.

Methods
This mixed methods study surveyed 60 foster alumni, ages 18-24, regarding their ideas about their future career goals, and current at-risk behaviors associated with poor transition outcomes. The survey questions were obtained from the National Youth Risk Behaviors Survey (CDC) as well as a range of unique questions about career goals. Eighteen youth participated in interviews exploring similar themes. The survey was administered online, through a secure website, and the participants for both the survey and the interviews were provided with a small monetary gift card for their time. The majority of the participants were youth of color.

Results
Survey results indicated that the foster alumni consumed alcohol at a rate of twice their non-foster peers, before the age of 13. They were also more likely to report binge drinking in the past 30 days. Marijuana use was also reported at more than twice the national average than their non-foster peers. Cocaine, methamphetamine, and steroid use were also higher.

Interview results, using grounded theory, indicated that youth had career goals, but also reported an unsophisticated career plan. Salient barriers were access to stable housing, financial insecurity, access to financial aid for college or training, and concerns about their interpersonal relationships (romantic relationships, children, siblings, biological parents).

Significance and Implications
Educators who desire to include foster youth in TRIO program must seek to understand the unique needs of this population in order to serve them successfully. The results of this study present important issues that educators must address.

Author

• Tina Anctil, Portland State University