The relationship between extended foster care and college outcomes for foster care alumni

ABSTRACT

The federal Fostering Connections law gives states the option to increase the foster care age limit from age 18 up to age 21. This law could potentially improve postsecondary education outcomes for youth in foster care. We analyze data collected from a longitudinal study of foster youth in three Midwestern states (n = 732). Linear probability models and instrumental variable models estimated the impact of years in care past age 18 on three outcomes: enrollment by age 21, persistence by age 21, and degree completion by age 29/30. Results indicated that each year in care past age 18 is expected to increase enrollment by about 9 to 11 percentage points. Significant associations were not found for persistence or degree completion.

KEYWORDS:

• College persistence
• college completion
• foster care
• foster youth
• extended foster care

Notes

1. It is possible that some of these students had enrolled in college classes as high school students. If this were the case, these students should be expected to have above-average academic credentials. However, we did not find evidence of this after examining several measures of academic progress and proficiency for each youth (e.g., high school GPA, reading proficiency score, history of skipping a grade, history of grade retention). Moreover, none of these youths enrolled in college at later ages after they had completed a high school credential. Thus, these 20 youth were counted as being not enrolled in college.

2. For example, the average cost of Illinois in-state tuition and fees for the 2003–2004 school year was $2,686, and the maximum Pell Grant award amount for the same year was $4,050.

3. The Education and Training Voucher (ETV) program was operating around the time STUDY participants enrolled in college, but data were not available on the percentage of applicants who received ETVs and the award amounts across states. Simmel and colleagues (2013) accessed data needed to calculate the average ETV amount per eligible youth broken down by state for the fiscal year of 2009. The authors reported nominal differences in the average allocated ETV amount for foster youth in Illinois ($1396) compared to foster youth in Wisconsin ($1456) and Iowa ($1355).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation [Dissertation fellowship] and the National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation [Dissertation fellowship].

Notes on contributors

Nathanael J. Okpych

Nathanael J. Okpych is an Assistant Professor in University of Connecticut’s School of Social Work. He studies the transition to adulthood for youth in foster care, and his research focuses on postsecondary education access and attainment, mental health, and social support. He earned a PhD from the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago, and holds master’s degrees in biostatistics and epidemiology (Chicago), social work (Rutgers), and clinical psychology (Duquesne). Nathanael’s professional experience includes providing mental health services to youth in residential, school, and community settings, as well as working for several years in college residence life.

Mark E. Courtney

Mark E. Courtney is the Samuel Deutsch Professor in the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration. His fields of special interest are child welfare policy and services, the connection between child welfare services and other institutions serving vulnerable populations, and the professionalization of social work. His current work includes studies of the adult functioning of former foster children, experimental evaluation of independent living services for foster youth, reunification of foster children with their families, and the influence of juvenile courts on the operation of the child welfare system.