The Road to the Finish Line: Support for Youth in Post Secondary Settings Great Expectations An Initiative of Virginias Community Colleges & the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education

About Great Expectations Serves foster youth 13 – 24, in both high school and college. Focuses on the value of a college education as the best way to gain employment and achieve independence. Provides education and employment opportunities that will improve the likelihood of success for foster youth. Offers individual support for at-risk foster teens as they finish high school, leave their foster homes and transition to postsecondary education and living on their own.

About Great Expectations Launched in 2008 at 5 Virginia Community Colleges. Now offered at 15 of the 23 community colleges; 2 additional colleges joining in Danville Germanna J. Sargeant Reynolds John Tyler Lord Fairfax Mountain Empire New River Northern Virginia Patrick Henry Piedmont Virginia Southside Virginia Southwest Virginia Tidewater Virginia Highlands Wythevill e

Great Expectations Services Help with the college admissions/financial aid Resource Center Personal counseling and individual tutoring Career exploration and coaching; job preparation Mentoring (by college staff, college peers and community volunteers) Special programs, e.g. life skills, healthy relationships Emergency and incentive Funds Online Best Practices Forum

Starting a New Program Essentials Support of the colleges admin. Special training for Campus Coaches Coordination with other depts. (e.g. financial aid, student success, counseling, tutoring) Special programs Emergency funds Challenges Part-time Campus Coaches Recruiting students in rural areas Building awareness of the program in the community Setting boundaries Lack of housing Transportation

It Takes a Team! The Great Expectations Campus Coaches are the key! Coaches are…..the go-to person who musters the other services available on the campus and in the community for the students The team includes….the high school career coaches, DSS workers foster and adoptive parents, volunteer mentors interns and work/study students, community supporters

College is within reach Virginias Community Colleges have Tuition Grants available for foster youth, former foster youth and special needs adoptees who have a high school diploma or GED. The Tuition Grant covers tuition and fees. Requirements - Enrolls and maintains at least half-time credit in an academic program of at least 1 year -Is a bona-fide resident of Virginia -Meets the satisfactory standards of the college for federal aid programs- Has not been previously enrolled full-time in a postsecondary program for more than 5 years and does not have a bachelors degree - Demonstrates a financial need

Workforce Development Services o - Career Coaches -Middle College -Virginia Career Readiness Certificate -Apprenticeship Related Instruction – working with sponsoring employers -Occupational Instruction (for certifications and licenses) - Institutes of Excellence (for high demand occupations) -Postsecondary Perkins (to continuously improve career/technical education) -Business & Industry - courses to meet VA professional and occupational regulations for Engineers, Architects, Contractors, Land Surveyors, etc. -Customized Training for more than 170 participating companies -Virginia Education Wizard For more information on VCCS Workforce Development:

Project Statistics o -Served over 700 foster youth in the past 3 years -15 colleges currently participating -More than 500 enrolled in fall 2011 (67% college; 11% hs; 22% dual) -Hundreds of workforce development certification pgms. available -68 foster youth have earned workforce certificates -8% of those eligible have graduated with an associates degree or workforce certification -66% of those in the high school program graduated -130 students are over staff - Emergency funds have been used for housing, transportation, utility bills, medical care, books and, in special cases, loss of financial aid.

Economic Analysis o Measuring the Costs of Foster Care and the Return on Investment of the Great Expectations Initiative, produced by Chmura Economics&Analytics, provided these highlights: Costs of foster care include economic costs and social costs. The total annual costs for Virginia foster youth are estimated to have been $29.7 million in Virginia in 2010, or $41,460 per aging-out foster youth. Foster youth tend to have lower educational attainment, are more likely to utilize public assistance, and are more likely to be involved with the criminal justice system. Community college students who were foster youth achieved lower academic performance than the VCCS student body at large. They were also more likely to have part-time jobs while attending school than other students. The WIA (Workforce Investment Act) participants who were foster youth tended to have lower educational attainment and lower skill levels than other WIA youth.

Economic Analysis o On an individual level, each foster youth who drops out of high school costs the public sector $209,100 over a lifetime due to lost wages and greater need for public support services. (National Governors Association Report 2010) The Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia, when discussing college completion rates in general, found, A single years college degree production accounts for $349 million in Social Services cost savings to the Commonwealth. Currently, there are more than 500 students enrolled in Great Expectations programs across the state. If the programs are successful in eliminating the achievement gaps in terms of economic and social outcomes, GE can save Virginia $10.1 million per year, far more than the 1.5 million annual cost of the program.

What Our Students Say I want to become a chef and open my own restaurant. Great Expectations is important because it shows theres a support system. Someone else is out there who cares about helping you. - Heather, age 18

Contact Information Carol Underhill Project Director of Great Expectations Virginia Community College System 101 N. 14th Street, 15th floor Richmond, VA (804)