Former foster youth face very low odds of college or workforce success. Some people are trying to change that

“SACRAMENTO, Calif. — On a late February afternoon, a dozen or so Sacramento State students, all current or former foster youth, filed into the office of the university’s Guardian Scholars Program for a financial aid workshop that promised to teach them how to “get that bread and get ahead.” When program coordinator Gina Bryan projected scholarship information on a screen, one young man called out: “I’m gonna get some money!” Not everyone felt that confident. Some said they’d never applied for scholarships and didn’t know how, while others said they feared being rejected or were intimidated by the essay requirements. Bryan broke down the complicated process using bread-making metaphors and jokes. And she addressed a mindset barrier that she knew many of them faced, even if they wouldn’t say so out loud. “You’re capable and worth investing in,” she told the students. “You’re not asking for a handout, you’re claiming a resource.” The Guardian Scholars Program at Sacramento State is one of hundreds around the country designed to help students who are former foster youth stay enrolled, thrive academically and graduate with plans to build stable careers. It offers a window into policies that work — from scholarships to housing help to social connections for emotional support — at a time when the federal government has begun focusing renewed attention on these students and holding out the promise of more investment in them. Former foster youth — a term that includes anyone who has spent time in the child welfare system, typically due to abuse or neglect — have some of the worst college graduation rates of any demographic group. An estimated 8 to 11 percent of former foster youth go on to earn any college degree, compared to 49 percent of adults overall, according to one analysis . They also typically have lower rates of employment and lower earnings than their peers with similar levels of education. Experts attribute the students’ struggles in higher education to instability and trauma they experienced growing up, inadequate academic preparedness and a lack of social and emotional support systems in college. It makes a big difference when students have “somebody on campus that really understands the unique and complex needs of former foster youth, that’s helping former foster youth build community with each other and find resources on and off campus,” said Rebecca Louve Yao, CEO of the National Foster Youth Institute, a nonprofit that aims to improve the child welfare system and empower foster youth. “That’s where the Guardian Scholars programs really work.” Related: Interested in more news about colleges and universities? Subscribe to our free biweekly higher education newsletter . The first Guardian Scholars Program began in 1998 at California State University, Fullerton, with funding from philanthropy. The model has since spread to all the California State and University of California campuses, and colleges around the country have adopted similar programs. And in 1999, the federal government established the Chafee Foster Care Program to help youth aging out of foster care get access to grants for college and other postsecondary training. Earlier this year, lawmakers introduced a bill to increase the Chafee program’s education and training vouchers from $5,000 to $12,000 per year, with some restrictions. Another bill, introduced last fall, proposed establishing a fund of $50 million annually to expand career training and apprenticeship opportunities for former foster youth, as well as a study of the child welfare system and the resources that are currently available. Also last fall, President Trump issued an executive order calling for, among other things, the creation of an online platform where young people formerly in foster care can find resources related to their education, job training, housing, health care and other basic needs. Students in the Sacramento State program — which was created in 2006 and is funded by a combination of private and public dollars — get special scholarships, help paying for textbooks and priority registration for campus housing and courses, said Linda Ram, the program’s former director. The Guardian Scholars office provides advising and holds events like the financial aid workshop (students are required to attend two advising sessions and two events every semester). For students who need quick cash for immediate needs, like replacing a broken laptop or traveling to see an ill relative, Guardian Scholars also offers emergency grants. At Sac State, the program is growing — from 52 students in fall 2021 to 248 students in fall 2025. That’s largely because of a boost in state funding for the programs at California State schools in 2022, Ram said, which also allowed her to more than double her office’s staff from two to five. Ram recently left Sac State for a job at a local nonprofit. Last fall, the university launched a new program that guarantees admission to former foster youth as long as they graduated from high school with a GPA of 2.5 or higher and completed a series of courses across seven subjects known as the A-G requirements. Still, the path to graduation isn’t easy: Data from the university shows that of the 11 students who entered the Guardian Scholars Program as freshman in 2019, one graduated within four years and five graduated within six years. Eight of the 12 former foster youth community college transfer students who enrolled in 2021 graduated in four years, and eight of the 25 who enrolled in 2023 graduated in two years. Sac State President J. Luke Wood said he’s proud of the growth of the program, but he wants to see far higher graduation rates. “We’re nowhere near where I want to be,” he said. “I’m happy for where we’re at, while being incredibly dissatisfied by where we’re at, too.” Ram said that despite the resources that the program provides, these students still face significant challenges. Although the program offers priority housing registration, many students will have to work one or two jobs to pay for their living expenses, which might slow them down or cause them to stop out, she said. Ram said she tried to make the program’s office an on-campus home for her students. She stocked the cabinets with healthy snacks and pasted inspirational quotes around the office’s main space. She often had quiet, calming music playing. And sometimes now, when the office door is open, it’s possible to hear someone (often President Wood) playing a donated piano in the building’s foyer. His office is just one floor above the Guardian Scholars Program — and that’s not by coincidence. Wood, who joined the university in 2023, grew up in foster care after his mother relinquished him and his twin brother. Eventually adopted by a foster family, Wood enrolled at Sacramento State after high school. There was no Guardian Scholars-type program then, but he found mentors on campus, and went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Shortly after becoming the university’s president, Wood moved the Guardian Scholars from a small office across the campus into its big, bright space on the first floor of the administration building. Now, the students stop to chat with him while he’s playing the piano, or join him to sing, sometimes bringing out the blue acoustic guitar that lives in the Guardian Scholars office. Jarred Holloway, a 26-year-old business major, who taught himself to play classical guitar in the eight years since he aged out of care, said he’s learned some Beatles songs because Wood likes them. Holloway went into the foster care system when he was 13, bouncing between foster families and group homes. During that time, Holloway said he attended three different high schools. He had few adults to encourage him to prioritize education, let alone college. “It felt like sometimes you’re just looked at like ‘Oh this person is not really going to go anywhere,’ ” he said. Jarred Holloway, a 26-year-old business major who is a former foster youth, strums a guitar in the Guardian Scholars Program office at California State University, Sacramento. Credit: Olivia Sanchez/The Hechinger Report But eventually, with the support of people he met through his church, he was able to enroll at Cosumnes River College, a two-year college in Sacramento. There he joined a group for students from historically underrepresented backgrounds and another group for former foster youth, where he learned about financial aid opportunities and other supports for higher education. When he transferred to Sacramento State, he immediately got involved with Guardian Scholars. Over time, he said, he began to feel like he had more control over his education. Last summer, he marked a milestone when he landed his first internship, at a local credit union. “I was like, ‘Finally, I’ve put in so much work and effort and here I am,’ ” he said. Related: From foster care to college The path to college was complicated for many of the Guardian Scholars students, and some of them continue to struggle with basic needs insecurity once they’re enrolled. Before arriving at Sac State, Christiano Quinones, a 28-year-old junior, had dropped out of high school, aged out of foster care and worked as a pastry chef in Southern California. A co-worker mentioned a program offering two years of free tuition toward an associate degree for first-time college students, piquing his interest. He earned his GED, received an associate degree from Fullerton College, a community college in Southern California, and then transferred to Sacramento State. Christiano Quinones, 28, experienced homelessness last fall before his Guardian Scholars Program adviser at California State University, Sacramento, helped him get into on-campus housing. Credit: Olivia Sanchez/The Hechinger Report He had housing lined up, but it fell through, and last fall he and his partner slept in their car when they were broke or in hotels when they’d saved enough money between their financial aid refunds and jobs. Over winter break, Quinones worked with Ram and Bryan, the program coordinator, to get into a dorm for the spring semester. He’s had to take out student loans to pay for it. Despite the challenges, Quinones said he’s been able to find time to enjoy himself. The Ticket to Dream Foundation, a nonprofit, provides Guardian Scholars participants with box seats at Sacramento Kings games and major concerts. In late February, Ram took Quinones and eight other students to see Cardi B. It was his first concert. “It makes you feel like you belong. It makes you feel like you’re a part of society,” Quinones said. “It’s pretty to see us all together having fun, you know, acting like humans, laughing.” Related: Couch surfing, living in cars: Housing insecurity derails foster kids’ college dreams Bryan, who was herself a student in the Guardian Scholars Program about a decade ago, said students are often too preoccupied with their dwindling time and resources to enjoy the present, or they use living in the present as an escape to avoid preparing for the future. She said she encourages them to focus on their growth, strength and resilience, and how these characteristics can help them achieve their goals. “It really has to be about sustainability,” Bryan said. “How can we slow you down to enjoy stuff about the present while making sure you have resources and aid that’s going to help with long-term success?” Louve Yao, of the National Foster Youth Institute, said that Trump’s proposed online platform of resources could help reduce this uncertainty. She said that former foster youth often aren’t aware of all that they’re eligible for, of the different deadlines to apply for those resources or that the busy social worker whose job it is to help them figure it out is only available during normal business hours. It’s unclear exactly what the status of Trump’s proposal is. The federal Administration for Children and Families is developing the platform and has gotten input from advocacy groups and former foster youth throughout the process. Trump gave ACF until May to create the platform. Neither the bill that would require a study of the current child welfare system and establish a $50 million annual fund for former foster youth nor the bill that would more than double the annual maximum Chafee grant have progressed at all since they were introduced. Related: How an old hotel shows one solution to community college student housing problems In the meantime, the burden to support these high-need students falls to community- and campus-based advocates like Bryan — and even to student workers like Holloway, the 26-year-old business major. Since arriving at Sacramento State, Holloway has worked off and on in the Guardian Scholars office, helping out with events like the financial aid workshop. He’s passionate about making the office a place of community where former foster youth can take their minds off challenges they’re up against and just have fun. He spends a lot of time in the center, even when he’s not working. Sometimes he’s doing homework, and other times, he’s playing Mario Kart on the Nintendo Switch in between classes or noodling on that blue guitar. “When you have a family, and if you sit down with your family, there’s connection. There’s joy and playing together and working together and having fun,” he said. In a way, that’s what the office time means to him. “It’s more about the space than it is about the game,” Holloway said. Contact staff writer Olivia Sanchez at 212-678-8402 or osanchez@hechingerreport.org . This story about foster youth and college was produced by The Hechinger Report , a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s weekly newsletter . The post Former foster youth face very low odds of college or workforce success. Some people are trying to change that appeared first on The Hechinger Report .

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