We at the National Scholarship Fund have worked tirelessly to make a difference in the lives of Maine’s former foster children by providing competitive college scholarships to those with the greatest need(s). It is our belief that the deserving youth who grew out of foster care (at the age of 18) can succeed at being productive and successful members of our community, with the right support. Unfortunately, without a family to support them, society becomes their family. Let’s face it, Maine’s former foster children cannot achieve their college dreams without all our help.
We at the National Scholarship Fund feel we have a social responsibility to help young adults, who have grown up in foster care, to receive a college education and to receive it at an institution of their choice. To achieve this goal, the National Scholarship Fund is working towards creating an innovative model of funding dedicated to help these deserving youth. Even with standard financial assistance, that many of these students transitioning from foster care may or may not receive, traditional grants and scholarships do not always entirely pay for the necessary college expenses (e.g., tuition, room and board, books, computers, etc). We would like to help these young adults, who have grown up in foster care, receive a quality college education, help them graduate debt free and start their adult life on a somewhat “even playing field.” With your help, these youth can become productive and successful members of our community.
The National Scholarship Fund has gathered viability research data (so far in Maine, Vermont and Colorado) and we have determined there are over 300 young college age adults in Maine per year who have aged out of the foster care system. These include young adults from foster families, residential facilities and group care. It is reasonable to believe these former foster youth lack a traditional family support system and therefore have greater obstacles to overcome in order to achieve their college dreams.
Sadly, life’s hardships can be extraordinarily challenging for former foster children. Without the traditional support system of a family, one of the limited opportunities available to former foster youth to pursue their college/university goals is through one of the Maine Department of Human Services, Tuition Waiver Slots provided by the Bureau of Children & Family Services. The tuition waiver slots are only available through an application process with the Finance Authority of Maine. These slots are only available for the university and community college system schools in Maine, and the Maine Maritime Academy. The biggest challenge is there are only 30 first year waivers available per academic year. This means the vast majority of former foster youth cannot receive the necessary financial support to enter and continue college/university.
Other known sources for tuition are available in Maine through the generous support of Casey Family Services, or through the individual student’s own initiative in obtaining funding. The average scholarship, from many of these sources, is $1500 or less for one year with an extensive application process. It was estimated that a student can spend 60 hours or more on those application processes, which often yield minimal or no success in obtaining the total funding necessary for their post-secondary education. Sometimes the frustration of this lengthy process of investigation and application discourages young adults, thus further hindering them from pursuing their college dreams. With no traditional family encouragement (and support), many former foster youth surrender their college dreams.
While engaged in discussions with the Bureau of Children & Family Services (State of Maine, Department of Health and Human Services), Casey Family Services, and the Muskie School of Public Service, it was clearly indicated that the current funds set aside for Maine’s former foster youth to attend college are not nearly adequate to meet the demand. This is where the National Scholarship Fund can be a tremendous help. The scholarship funds being sought by the National Scholarship Fund will not replace traditional scholarships, but compliment them to meet the unique financial needs of these students.
Those same agencies (listed above) have also indicated to us that only 3% of those youth previously engaged in the foster care system (who attended college) completed it, vs. 28% of the general population. Sadly, a good portion of those “aged-out” foster care youth indicated their reason for leaving college was due to financial hardship. Let me repeat: a good portion of “aged-out” foster care youth indicated the reason they did NOT complete their college education was due to financial hardship.
The scholarships being proposed by the National Scholarship Fund will attempt to address this issue. As part of the planning process for distribution, the National Scholarship Fund has been meeting with the Youth Leadership Advisory Team (YALT) of the Muskie School to determine what the needs of the students are and to insure the National Scholarship Fund’s usage guidelines match these needs.
With no parents, traditional home or adequate government involvement, these deserving youth transitioning from foster care must depend on organizations like the National Scholarship Fund and generous companies like Dielectric to support them “as you would do for your own kids.” Please support foster care youth. In Maine today, other states tomorrow.
Please feel free to contact us to learn how we can help youth who grew up in foster care receive the college education they need, in order to help them succeed in their community and your state.
Best wishes,
Paul T. Bole, Ed.D, President
National Scholarship Fund
“Everything we do not have at birth and which we
need when we are grown
is given by education.”
-- Jean Jacques Rousseau
