San Diego Mesa College, Sacramento City College and Butte College are the latest community
colleges to launch a student support program geared toward foster youth in higher
education.
The expansion of NextUp – a program housed under the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) –
to 15 additional California community colleges will help new host institutions promote
foster youth’s academic success in higher education. The program will provide students
with personalized support services, including educational planning, emergency housing
assistance, food assistance, financial literacy and counseling and career guidance.
Formerly known as the Cooperating Agencies Foster Youth Educational Support (CAFYES)
program, NextUp will now be available to students attending American River College,
Cosumnes River College, Folsom Lake College, Bakersfield College, Cerro Coso Community
college, Porterville College, Chaffey Community College, Moreno Valley College, Norco
College, Riverside City College, San Diego City College and San Diego Miramar College.
To be eligible for participation in NextUp, students must be taking nine units at
a college with the program, must be under the age of 26 and must have been in foster
care on or after their 16th birthday.
“Foster youth have one of the lowest college graduation rates and providing the basic
services such as personal counseling, educational plan, case management services,
follow-up services and a variety of educational needs were not being met,” said Sade
Burrell, an assistant professor and EOPS special populations counselor at San Diego
Mesa College.
Read the full Diverse Issues in Higher Education article here.
Tags: Foster Youth, Fast Scholars