ListenWASHINGTON
Push to give foster-care youth
support in higher education
...
A successful pilot effort connecting
foster-care youth with higher education should be turned into a program by
the state Legislature.
HELPING youths in foster care go on to college is a worthy task before the Legislature that ought not be eclipsed by challenges posed by the state budget.
House Bill 2254 continues the Passport to College Promise Program, started in 2007, supporting college-bound kids from foster care. It continues state-sponsored scholarships at current funding levels.
The program is an efficient use of public and private partnerships. One partner is the College Success Foundation, a key to helping foster-care youth find scholarships and other financial-aid resources. Some of the support is as basic as helping students fill out the complex Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, also known as the FAFSA.
Services integral to any new student's life, including housing assistance or math tutoring, take on greater weight with low-income students and those who lack traditional support systems, such as intact families.
Universities and advocacy organizations offer support for vulnerable students but the state program offers a coordinated route with key roles for agencies such as the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. At the community level, lawmakers point to models such as Seattle University, which offers year-round housing and connects students with local families so there's somewhere to go for the holidays.
Another partner is the foster-care advocacy group Treehouse, a conduit to foster-care youth aspiring to college. Higher education institutions and social service agencies are encouraged to share basic information to help untangle the red tape associated with financial aid and other college-related forms.
Efforts are paying off.
A 2011 look by the Higher Education Coordinating Board at the Passport to College program's first three years found an increase in the number of students from foster care enrolling in college. Good.
Washington state has made great strides strengthening educational opportunities for foster-care youth. More social services within the K-12 system, coupled with strict rules designed to keep foster-care placements from disrupting school attendance, help. Left unresolved – until the Passport to College Promise Program – were efforts that continued such supports through college.
The passport bill is a bipartisan effort led by Rep. Reuven Carlyle, D-Seattle. Its only enemy is time. Senate and House conferees should act swiftly on the bill. Then Gov. Chris Gregoire should sign into law critical help for our most vulnerable youths.
Editorial
2 March 2012
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorials/2017651243_edit03scholarship.html
