It's My Life: Postsecondary Education and Training

176 Pages·2005·0.98 MB·English

It’s My Life: P
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A Guide for Transition Services from Casey Family Programs c
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About Casey Family Programs
Casey Family Programs’ mission is to provide and improve—and ultimately to prevent the need
for—foster care.
Established by United Parcel Service founder Jim Casey, the Seattle-based national operating
foundation has served children, youth, and families in the child welfare system since 1966.
The foundation operates in two ways. It provides direct services, and it promotes advances in child
welfare practice and policy.
Casey collaborates with foster, kinship, and adoptive families to provide safe, loving homes for youth
in its direct care. The foundation also collaborates with counties, states, and American Indian and
Alaska Native tribes to improve services and outcomes for the more than 500,000 young people in
out-of-home care across the United States.
Drawing on four decades of front-line work with families and alumni of foster care, Casey Family
Programs develops tools, practices, and policies to nurture all youth in care and to help parents
strengthen families at risk of needing foster care.
© 2006 Casey Family Programs. Readers should contact Casey Family Programs before copying or quoting from the material.
For more information about this guide, contact Casey Family Programs at 1300 Dexter Avenue North, Floor 3, Seattle, WA 98109-3542.
Visit our Web site at www.casey.org.
Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................9
Recommendation #1: Foster High Academic Aspirations .....................15
Strategy #1: Hold high academic expectations ......................................16
Strategy #2: Help students take charge of their own education .............16
Strategy #3: Encourage students to connect career dreams with
postsecondary education plans ............................................................19
Strategy #4: Introduce youth to role models and encourage positive
peer relationships ..................................................................................21
Recommendation #2: Encourage Long-Term Planning for
Postsecondary Education ........................................................................25
Strategy #1: Help students connect with a mentor ................................26
Strategy #2: Help students build an academic portfolio .........................28
Strategy #3: Help students start exploring options for
postsecondary education ......................................................................30
Strategy #4: Help students enroll in college preparation programs .........31
Strategy #5: Discuss preparation for postsecondary education at
IEP and Section 504 meetings for students with disabilities ...................33
Recommendation #3: Stress Rigorous Academic Preparation .............37
Strategy #1: Help students reach grade-level skills in reading
and math ...............................................................................................38
Strategy #2: Make sure students develop good study skills ...................41
Strategy #3: Help students develop rigorous academic plans ................43
Strategy #4: Monitor students’ academic progress closely ....................46
Strategy #5: Advocate for stable, high quality educational
placements for students ........................................................................47
Strategy #6: Promote appropriate, rigorous educational programs
for students with disabilities ...................................................................50
Recommendation #4: Support Students in Taking
Standardized Tests ....................................................................................55
Strategy #1: Help students prepare for standardized tests .....................56
Strategy #2: Help students register for and get to standardized tests ....57
Strategy #3: Track student performance on state exit exams .................59
Strategy #4: Get an updated educational assessment for students
in special education ...............................................................................59
The Basics of Standardized Tests ..........................................................60
Recommendation #5: Support Students in Choosing,
Applying for, and Enrolling in Postsecondary Education .......................73
Strategy #1: Discuss with students the wide range of postsecondary
education and training opportunities ......................................................74
Strategy #2: Help students match postsecondary programs with
their goals and skills ..............................................................................77
Strategy #3: Help students submit a strong application .........................85
Strategy #4: Assist students in making acceptance decisions
and enrolling ..........................................................................................88
Recommendation #6: Help Students Apply for and Get Adequate
Financial Aid ...............................................................................................93
Strategy #1: Make sure students have a mentor to help them apply
for financial aid ......................................................................................94
Strategy #2: Help students explore their financial aid options ................97
Strategy #3: Help students apply for financial aid, including
scholarships ........................................................................................101
Strategy #4: Help students finalize their financial aid packages ............106
The Basics of Scholarships, Vouchers, Waivers, and Grants ................108
Recommendation #7: Engage Young Adults Who Have Missed
out on Postsecondary Preparation ........................................................119
Strategy #1: Help young adults see the importance of postsecondary
education and how it can be a reality ...................................................120
Strategy #2: Help young adults improve basic skills and study skills ....122
Strategy #3: Encourage young adults to evaluate the pros and
cons of a GED .....................................................................................123
Strategy #4: Give young adults options for getting a high
school diploma ....................................................................................125
Strategy #5: Offer guidance and support for postsecondary
enrollment ...........................................................................................127
Recommendation #8: Help Students Adjust to and Complete Their
College or Training Program ..................................................................133
Strategy #1: Help students transition to the postsecondary
program ..............................................................................................134
Strategy #2: Help students identify a mentor for their postsecondary
education ............................................................................................138
Strategy #3: Make sure students know about support services and
access them as needed ......................................................................140
Strategy #4: Help students adjust academically ...................................142
Strategy #5: Help students adjust personally and socially ....................144
Strategy #6: Help students successfully complete their
postsecondary program ......................................................................147
Appendix A—Chafee Programs .............................................................151
The John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program and the
Education and Training Voucher Program ............................................151
The Chafee Independent Living Program (Chafee IL Program) ......151
Chafee Education and Training Vouchers (Chafee ETVs) ...............152
Appendix B—Checklists .........................................................................155
Preparing students for postsecondary education .................................155
Complete these activities every year ....................................................155
7th Grade ......................................................................................156
8th Grade ......................................................................................156
9th Grade ......................................................................................156
10th Grade ....................................................................................157
11th Grade ....................................................................................158
12th Grade ....................................................................................159
Index .........................................................................................................161
It’s My Life Guides
In 2001 Casey Family Programs—working with young people in foster care, alumni
of care, families, and other stakeholders—published It’s My Life, a framework to
develop services for young people preparing to make the transition from foster care to
successful adulthood. It’s My Life promotes a holistic approach to transition services.
It is based on the belief that the domains of our lives are interconnected.
It’s My Life guides build on that framework, offering specific strategies, tactics,
and resources for youth and the adults who guide and support them. It’s My Life:
Postsecondary Education and Training is the third guide in this series. It follows It’s My
Life: Housing, published in 2005, and It’s My Life: Employment, published in 2004.
The Seven Life Domains in It’s My Life
Cultural and Supportive Physical Life skills Education Employment Housing
personal relationships and mental
identity and health
formation community
connections
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About the resources we suggest
Many resources in this guide are found on the Internet. They are good examples of
what you can find by typing your topic—for example, student housing or college
scholarships—into a search engine such as www.google.com. We encourage you and
the young people you work with to continue to search the Internet for other resources.
And when you get to any Web site (including the ones we’ve recommended), explore
the site. Most offer a range of information and links to other Web sites. Many, however,
are commercial sites that, in addition to free information and tools, promote commercial
services and products.
Keep an eye out for scholarship and financial aid scams. Companies that guarantee
free money for tuition or require payment for scholarships are probably not credible.
For more information, see “Be aware of scholarship scams!” on page 113.
Please make sure that young people are Internet savvy before suggesting that they use
such sites. They need to be aware that suggestions to visit sites for free information are
not endorsements for products and services sold there. And, more important, they need
to know how to use caution in divulging personal information and in using adequate
safeguards when making personal contacts through the Internet. Several good
resources for teaching young people about Internet safety and security are:
• Safe Teens: www.safeteens.com
• Get Net Wise: www.getnetwise.com
• Internet Safety 101: www.about.com. Click Parenting & Family; then click
Family Internet. Under Essentials, click Online Safety Tips.
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6 It’s My Life: Postsecondary Education and Training
Introduction
It’s My Life: Postsecondary Education and Training
8 It’s My Life: Housing Guide