The Problem

Youth in foster care are often denied access to adequate educational and residential programs that meet their unique needs within a supportive environment. The damaging effects of growing up in foster care without those needs met are staggering: high rates of young parenthood, unemployment, homelessness, inadequate health insurance, reliance on public assistance, severe mental illness, and incarceration. Youth in foster care often emerge as young adults from our “system” without possessing the basic skills to survive. Fewer than 3% of foster youth (below one tenth of the proportion of the general population) obtain a college education, arguably their best ladder out of challenging childhoods to healthy, successful adult lives.

The reason for this disparity has nothing to do with an intrinsic lack of intelligence or desire. The proportion of children in the foster care system who want to go to college is nearly identical to that of the general population at 70 percent; however, youth in foster care face more difficult obstacles en route to college acceptance.

Preparing a young person for college is a multiyear process involving significant support from parents and caregivers often not available to children in foster care. Many students find themselves in an environment where the expectation of college attendance is low. Without this support, students are less likely to be engaged in a curriculum that meets the requirements of a 4-year institution and oftentimes are not encouraged to apply, causing some to believe that college isn’t a place for people like them.

The Plan

To address these conditions, the concept of college prep academies for youth in foster care at universities was proposed in the book Childhood Denied, written by Dr. Kathleen Reardon and co-authored by Christopher Noblet.  Reardon, a First Star Distinguished Fellow and founding board member, proposed the development of live-in academies on university campuses.  The primary goal of these academies is to expose high school students in foster care to the university life, thereby demystifying the experience.  By providing an excellent curriculum and mentors throughout high school, teaching skills for self-efficacy, and training in psycho-social well-being, the academies are able to support and guide the students as they overcome obstacles on the path to college acceptance.

The Plan in Action

Dr. Reardon’s idea came to life in 2011 at UCLA through a unique collaboration with First Star Inc., UCLA, and DCYF. The program was a national success and spurred academies throughout the country.

In 2012, Rhode Island became the second state to implement the program with the launch of the URI Academy. A team of business, philanthropic, and academic sponsors, prominently Hasbro, Adoption Rhode Island, and IdentityTheft 911, joined with First Star to make this possible after President David Dooley decided to house the academy at the URI Kingston Campus. The first summer program took place with 20 youth at the URI campus in the summer of 2012 and in the summer of 2013, Rhode Island was the first state in the nation to take on a second cohort of eight students.

Today, there are academies at UCLA, URI, George Washington University, and UCONN. First Star is planning to start new academies at Rowan University, the University of Central Florida, and Loyola Chicago in the summer of 2015.