When Self-Reliance Becomes a Barrier: Why Foster Youth Cannot Ask for Help

• In Event: 44.084 - Roundtable Session 18
  In Roundtable Session: 44.084-17 - Transition and Persistence to Higher Education

Abstract

Foster youth are unprepared for the transition from foster care to independence. This impacts their ability to be successful in a university setting. Their ability to meet their own basic needs like housing, healthcare, or transportation is in jeopardy and many have had no training or experience managing their own finances or advocating for themselves. Enrollment in a university requires they navigate all of these things. Experience with the foster care system created distrust of others, paralyzing their ability to ask for help when needed. It is not surprising that so few earn a bachelor’s degree. This study shares the experiences of 21 foster youth attending a four-year college or university and the barriers they encountered during their academic journey.

Author

• Brenda Marie Morton, George Fox University