While California’s housing market poses problems for many college students, the challenge is particularly acute among former foster youth, as they prepare to leave the care system and enter the next chapter of their adult lives without built-in support from family.
The state’s community colleges are working to ease that transition through a variety of programs that provide financial assistance for housing, textbooks and supplies, as well as emotional support and counseling.
But they still fall short of meeting the need, and additional state support is urgently needed, say advocates focused on foster student success. Though California in recent years has placed a priority on helping foster students succeed in the K-12 system, the fear is that progress will be undermined if students aren’t able to cope with the real challenges — financial and otherwise — when entering college.
