Pamela D. Ennis

Video recording of this presentation can be found at: dx0&feature=youtu.be

 Since 1999, over 371,000 youth have exited the foster care system-either at the age of 18 or as legally emancipated minors  Challenges to transition to adulthood ◦ Early parenthood ◦ Incarceration ◦ Homelessness and poverty ◦ Physical and mental health problems

 1986 Federal Independent Living Program ◦ $70 million per year to states that implemented independent living programs and educational programs  1999 The John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Act ◦ Extended benefits of foster care to age 21

Midwest Study  70 % of foster youth indicated they wanted to go to college  11-13% enroll in college  3% actually receive a college degree

 Nationwide ◦ Western Michigan State University ◦ University of Washington  Texas ◦ Austin Community College ◦ Persevere Until Success Happens (PUSH), University of North Texas ◦ Foster Care Alumni Creating Educational Successes (FACES), Texas State University

R1. What do student foster alumni need to be “successful” in college? R2. How do program leaders’ perceptions of student needs differ from the student perceptions of their own needs?

O1: Assess student foster alumni perceptions of needs for successful postsecondary outcomes. O2: Assess program leader/administrator perceptions of student foster alumni needs for successful postsecondary outcomes. O3: Provide recommendations to educators about perceived needs of student foster alumni

 H1: Foster alumni will identify common themes of strengths when considering the benefits of the campus support program in which they participated.  H2: Student foster alumni will identify common themes of needs when considering their own strengths and the experiences in foster care and the campus support program in which they participated.

 Foster care youth aspirations to attend college (71%)  Possible causes for low enrollment (11-13%)  Possible causes for low graduation rates (3%)

 Strengths Perspective ◦ Empowerment ◦ Student foster care alumni and campus support program administrators are identified as expert key informants in the process  Social Constructionist Theory ◦ Individuals shape themselves based upon their experiences ◦ Environments can be created which make experiences conducive to success in college

 Mixed Methods-with strong emphasis on qualitative methods ◦ Qualitative  Inductive and Grounded Theory Methods ◦ Quantitative  Demographics  Convenience Sampling and Mock Surveys

 Voluntary Participation  Informed Consent ◦ Telephone Surveys  Confidentiality

 Qualitative Data ◦ Open-ended questions ◦ Semi-structured surveys ◦ Based on experiences of the participants ◦ Open coding method and memoing  Strengths  Needs  Quantitative Data ◦ Demographic information

 Questions for Program Administrators ◦ Perceived effectiveness of existing programs ◦ Perceptions of student needs  Questions for Student Foster Alumni ◦ Perceptions of program effectiveness ◦ Needs that can be addressed by the program

 Qualitative Data ◦ Student perceptions of program benefits  55% Confidence, self esteem, empowerment  36% Networking-social and resources  36% Leadership and Communication  36% Social Activities  36% Life Skills Programs

 Qualitative Data ◦ Student perceptions of individual needs  63% General support by peers and program staff  Further research needed to identify support more specifically ◦ Student perceptions of program improvements (needs)  36% Training for mentors

 Quantitative Data ◦ Demographics  Significant population of African American student foster alumni (55%)

 Based on findings ◦ Need for changes in mentorship program ◦ Expand leadership programs as a means to increase student foster alumni autonomy ◦ Based on demographic findings future research should consider the correlation between significant ethnic population needs and student foster alumni needs

Limitations ◦ Small sample size ◦ Perceptions do not necessarily translate into reality  What are the desired outcomes?  Retention  Graduation ◦ Representation and generalizability

Strengths ◦ Research adds to existing literature ◦ Strengths Perspective empowers participants ◦ Grounded and Inductive Theory Methods provided avenues of exploration for both the researcher and the participants

 Voluntary participation  Informed consent  Confidentiality  Awareness of risks—however minimal  Aware of the potential for bias

 Service ◦ Program development  Social Justice ◦ Providing leadership training and a platform for student foster alumni self-advocacy  Dignity and worth of the person ◦ Self-determination and autonomy

 Importance of human relationships ◦ Networking ◦ Social relationships  Integrity ◦ Grounded Theory and inductive methods capture the reality of student foster alumni experience through exploratory research  Competence-adherence to evidence-based methods of inquiry

 Micro ◦ One on one interactions with student foster alumni ◦ Improving the quality of mentorship services  Mezzo ◦ Focus groups as a means of continuous evaluation and improvements  Macro ◦ Program development and implementation

 Andrews, T. (2012). What is Social Constructionism?. Grounded Theory Review, 11(1),  Federal Independent Living Program (PL ) (H. Res. 3128, 1986).  Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of HR th Congress.  John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Act, 42 U.S.C. 677 § 477 (2001).  McMillen, C., Auslander, W., Elze, D., White, T., & Thompson, R. (2003). Educational experiences and aspirations of older youth in the foster care system. Child Welfare, 72, 475– 495.  Miller, C. (2009). Transitions to adulthood for Texas foster youth. Texans Care for Children. Retrieved from foster_youth.pdf  National Association of Social Workers (NASW). (1999). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Work. Washington, DC. NASW Press.  Pecora, P. J., Williams, J., Kessler, R. C., Downs, C. A., O'Brien, K., Hiripi, E., et al. (2003). Assessing the effects of foster care: Early results from the Casey National Alumni Study. Seattle, WA: Casey Family Programs.  Rubin, A. & Babbie, E. (2013). Essential Research Methods for Social Work (3 rd ed.). Belmont, CA:Brooks/Cole.  Salazar, A. (2013). The Value of a College Degree for Foster Care Alumni: Comparisons with General Population Samples. Social Work, 59 (2),