MIAMI, FL – Higher education continues to be a major avenue to economic and personal achievement. A study by the group Payscale showed that an investment in one of the three Florida Consortium universities yields an average annual return on your investment of 9.9% versus an annual return on your stock market investment of 6 to 7%. In addition we know that college educated citizens are healthier, live longer, vote more often, participate in their community, and report being happier overall. However, for many potential students the promise of higher education still remains a seemingly unattainable dream. For the nearly 75,000 foster care and the countless homeless youth the concept of getting into and graduating from college is a dream denied. While national studies vary because of the transient nature of these students an estimated range of only 2 – 6% of foster care youth will achieve a college degree by the age of 26. Compare this with 34% of all adults 26 and under and the foster and homeless student achievement gap becomes apparant. And this is an issue despite ample resources being made available by states like Florida to encourage and support students to compelte college.
Steve Rios and the good folks at Florida Reach hope to change this trend. On June 9th and 10th, 2016 Florida Reach hosted its third annual symposium on the campus of Miami-Dade College and Florida International University. Over 120 professionals from K-12, the non-profit sector, higher education, and state agencies came together to discuss and plan how to increase access and develop plans for supporting a lot more students in the system. Session topics ranged from understanding student’s legal rights, to information on resources colleges can draw from to help students from day one. There was a clear acknowledgement of the challenges ahead. Students in the foster care or homeless system tend to attend multiple schools giving them an uneven experience, their lack of family cohesion means many students are having to choose work and safety over their studies and college preparation. Many of these students have suffered through traumas that make school focus hard. In short, these students are gonna need additional support. Florida Reach aims to harness the collective efforts of all segments of the State of Florida to find a more efficient and streamlined process so we can up the odds for all students.
The highlight of the two days were the student panels on multiple topics such as academic support, mental wellness, financial support, and career readiness. Michael Preston, Florida Consortium Executive Director led a tabletop discussion with four rising seniors in college on the topic of career readiness. The students reported that unlike their peers getting ready to graduate and get a job is not an exciting time but a scary one. These students reminded Dr. Preston that in the words of one student “This will be the first time I am having to live on my own. I have been part of the system since I was 8 and unlike my friends who can go home when times get tough if this job doesn’t work out for me then I am homeless.” All of the students reported that the fear of the finality of college graduation made them worry that they are indeed going to fail. Because of their situation these students said they are less likely to take a chance on a job in another city or in a new field. Another student reported, “look, I know Miami and I got no other place I can be. If I move to Atlanta for a job and it doesn’t work out then what am I gonna do. Plus, we don’t have the money for moving, our options are limited because we are in the system.” The other issue for the students was the lack of resources that make securing an internship an issue. As one student put it, “Internships don’t help pay the bills. When you have rent, food, and such you can’t work for free. But that is how other students get those jobs, they have the resources to work an internship.” The students all said that if their foster benefits extended to support them while in an internship they would be far more comfortable and willing to take the leap on an internship. “This is just the cycle we are in. We want to do better but we really just are scared to let go.”
The members of the Florida Consortium are leading the way to help these students let go and embrace the promise of higher education. Our efforts are led by Florida International University and their innovative Fostering Panther Pride program. This program assists students with all aspects of their college experience including providing coaches for students in the foster care system. More information can be found in this inspiring video produced by FIU.
The University of Central Florida has a similar program on campus and also has an innovative Homeless Student Committee that helps students who identify as homeless match to resources including tuition waivers. Orlando has one of the largest homeless family populations in the United States and these students need to go to college as well. The University of South Florida is currently offering assistance through the Center for Child Welfare.
College can be a blessing for all who attend. From taking that life changing class, attending their alma mater’s homecoming game, to walking the stage at graduation there is so much to see and ways to grow. For our homeless and foster care youth the Florida Consortium hopes to expand that dream of achievement to hundreds more students. In the coming weeks there will be a committee formed which will focus on our collective action as a Florida Consortium and how we can continue to partner with Florida Reach to make an impact.
For more information on services provided by our Florida Consortium schools or if you are a student who may qualify for services please contact the following professionals who are ready to speak to you!
Florida International University
Ana Ramos, MSW, RCSWI
Office of Student Access and Success
anramos@fiu.edu
University of Central Florida
Angela Newland
Care Manager, Homeless Student Committee
angela.newland@ucf.edu