Student Foster Alumni

Life Skills Grant Proposal

Pamela Ennis, Kindra Gaines, Danielle Mitchell

Introduction/Agency Need

• Since 1999, over 230,000 youth have “aged out” of the foster care system. According to Salazar,

foster alumni outcomes are worse than their counterparts in the general public with regard to their

successful functioning and transition to adulthood (2013).

• While 70% of foster youth say they want to attend college only 3% receive a college degree (Miller,

2009).

• Currently, none of the colleges or universities in the A&M system have programs that address the

specific needs of student foster alumni.

• The Director of Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Title IV-E Project Director have

expressed a desire to meet the needs of student foster alumni at Tarleton State University.

Project Description

Solution: Provide Office of Diversity and Inclusion with life skills training

resources:

● Each student is able participate in the life skills program at his or her

own pace.

● Students who take advantage of this program will have access to this

program for life including any updates the program may have.

Project Plan

● Seek and obtain funding for life skills training

* Hoeffner Family Foundation

● Purchase licenses for training program

* GETReal Life Skills

● Identify student foster alumni at Tarleton State University

● Student foster alumni participate in needs assessment focus groups

Project Plan

● Student foster alumni are offered the life skills training program

● Student foster alumni are provided with mentors who provide support

and periodically follow-up on student progress in the life skills program

● At the end of the academic year, student foster alumni’s progress with the

life skills program is evaluated through interview with mentors and

quantitative surveys, such as the Casey Life Skills Assessment tool.

Goals

• Provide creditable life skills training materials to student foster alumni at Tarleton State University

• Develop accessible resources to the foster care alumni population in higher education provide

support and foster positive mentoring relationships

• Advocate for the foster care alumni population at Tarleton State University

• Increase retention and graduation rates for the target population

Project Objectives

• For 75% of identified student foster alumni to participate in the GETReal life skills training

• For 50% of students who receive the identified life skills training to complete two modules within

their first year of participation.

• Recruit student foster alumni who complete their first year of life skills training as peer mentors for

participants in subsequent years.

Action Plan

Identify student foster alumni (Fall semester)

Financial Aid Office-tuition waiver

Agencies that serve foster care youth who are aging out of the system

ODI and Title IV-E focus groups

● Recruit peer mentors (Fall semester)

o Utilize similar methods of recruitment as are currently used with existing ODI programs

o Provide peer mentors with access to the same training-first year of implementation. Student foster alumni participants peer mentors in

subsequent years

Action Plan

● Provide student foster alumni with information regarding the life skills training program (Fall Semester)

● Recruit student foster alumni registration for life skills training program

o Pre-program assessment, utilizing strengths focused assessment tool, such as the Casey Ansell Life Skills Assessment

Determines independent living readiness

Identifies skills that need to be acquired

● Annual evaluation (at the end of Spring semester)

o Survey, such as the Casey Ansell Life Skills Assessment-quantitative data

o Focus groups-collection of qualitative data

Anticipated Outcomes

• Positive experiences with life skills training will provide student foster

alumni with confidence necessary for successful progress in college,

manifesting as enrollment retention and eventually graduation.

• Life skills training leads to increased academic achievement (Williams, 2011)

• Creating an environment of “late-emerging resilience” (Montgomery, 2011,

p. 21)

Outline of Detailed Budget

Item

Program curriculum GETReal from Life Skills 497.00

Promotional materials 500.00

Total 997.00

Implications for Social Work Practice

Micro Implications-

● Working with students on an individual level

○ Improving probability of individual students achieving self sufficiency.

● If the students do not remain with Tarleton and receive their degree through another campus

system the students still will have access to the program or decide to stop pursuing a degree:

○ Students will be equipped with lifelong skills to assist them in their adult lives

● Increasing probability of student mentors who have completed the program for incoming

students.

Implications for Social Work Practice

Mezzo Implications

Focus group facilitation

Implementation of skill development and practical

application of skills

Implications for Social Work Practice

Macro implications

Program development

Program at TSU carries the potential to serve as a model for other campuses in the Texas A & M

system

Policy and Social Justice

Reducing in at-risk circumstances for foster alumni (i.e.; early parenthood, incarceration,

homelessness) reduces costs to society.

Seeking changes in policy in order to gain funding from legislative sources

Foster Alumni Group Process

References Berry, B. (2014). Explore how it works. Retrieved from: http://lifeskillprograms.com/step-2-start-30-students/

Casey Family Programs. (2011). Casey life skills assessment. [Measurement instrument]. Retrieved from http://lifeskills.casey.org/.

John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Act, 42 U.S.C. 677 § 477 (2001).

Montgomery, D. E. (2011). Life experiences that contributed to the independence and success in the lives of foster care alumni (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from Antioch

University Repository & Archive, 121. Retrieved from http://aura.antioch.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1124&context=etds.

Pecora, P. J. (2012). Maximizing educational achievement of youth in foster care and alumni: Factors associated with success. Children And Youth Services Review, 34(6), 1121-1129.

doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.01.044.

Salazar, A. (2013). The Value of a College Degree for Foster Care Alumni: Comparisons with General Population Samples. Social Work. Vol. 59. No. 2.

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. (2014). College for all Texans: Exemptions for students who are under conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective

Services. Retrieved from http://www.collegeforalltexans.com/apps/financialaid/tofa2.cfm?ID=429

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau, Preliminary Estimates

for FY 1998-2013. Retrieved from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/research-data-technology/statistics-research/afcars

Williams, C. (2011). Mentoring and social skills training: Ensuring better outcomes for youth in foster care. Child Welfare, 90 (1), 59-74.