WHEREAS, California is home to over 80,000 of the nearly 440,000 foster youth in the United States (ranging from newborns to 21 years old) [1], 93% of foster youth state an intent to attend college, yet only 4% of former foster youth obtain a college degree by the age of 26 (50% of same-aged, non-foster youth peers are college-educated) [2], and nearly 50% of foster youth end up unemployed within four years of exiting foster care with more than 25% incarcerated and 20% experiencing homelessness [1], demonstrating a significant gap in educational attainment due to adverse childhood experiences that have left 25% of foster children diagnosed with PTSD (twice the rate of U.S. war veterans) and many suffering with high rates of debilitating depression and low self-esteem [1];
WHEREAS, The NextUp program provides critical financial, academic, and personal support to foster youth in California Community Colleges [3] by increasing student retention through counseling, housing, and employment assistance [4], yet its current eligibility restrictions limit the definition of California foster youth to only those who were in the foster care system at any point on or after their 13th birthday and under the age of 26 (per Section 66025.9 of the California Education Code) [5], creating barriers to educational access for foster youth who wish to continue their education at California Community Colleges but do not meet the qualifications for NextUp support;
WHEREAS, California State Universities (CSUs) offer services to any students who have been in placement as a dependent of the court or ward of the court at any time since birth [6], supporting all foster youth populations despite only 3% of foster youth completing a four-year college degree due to institutional selectivity and a lack of support to reach these higher-level institutions [7]; and
WHEREAS, California Community Colleges are open-enrollment institutions that aim to provide an inclusive higher education system with access points for every learner to transfer to selective four-year institutions, serving 30,000 current and former foster youth through a promise of greater accessibility and a focus of resources on supporting foster youth populations in Vision 2030 [8]; Now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, The Student Senate for California Community Colleges urge the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and the California State Legislature to remove age-based eligibility restrictions for the NextUp program, ensuring equal access for all current and former foster youth;
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community Colleges advocate for increased state funding for NextUp, enabling more foster youth to receive the financial, academic, and personal resources necessary to persist and graduate;
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community Colleges urge the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and the California State Legislature to require all professors and educators in the California Community College system to undergo mandatory trauma-informed training, ensuring they are equipped to support foster youth and other students who have experienced adversity; and
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community Colleges advocate for the collection of comprehensive data, including standardized tracking of foster youth outcomes within the NextUp program, to better assess student progress, retention, and success rates while improving data-sharing practices between colleges and relevant agencies to ensure more informed policy decisions and equitable resource distribution.
[1] https://www.speakupnow.org/foster-care-statistics-resources/
[4]https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/2024-07/A_Look_at_NextUp_Implementation_in_Califor nia.pdf