Foster youth continue to lag far behind their peers when it comes to college completion, and college affordability has long been cited as the most common barrier that foster youth face. In recognition of the multitude of disadvantages that these students often confront, Senator Angelique Ashby championed legislation in 2023 that successfully expanded the Middle Class Scholarship (MCS) for current and former foster youth pursuing a bachelor’s degree at a CSU, UC or California community college.
This webinar will highlight exciting new findings from a soon to be released report from the Urban Institute, Paying for College as a Student with Foster Care History, which analyzed the usage of this expanded aid across the 2023-24 academic year and shed light on the impact that has been realized as a result of this expansion. In addition, this webinar will reveal new insights from thirteen focus groups with students who were eligible to receive MCS funding to better understand the impact of financial aid in their postsecondary educational journey, from their decision to enroll and their perceptions of affordability to the impact it makes on their current college experience.
Attendees will hear from JBAY, Senator Ashby, the Urban Institute and a student with lived experience about the realities students with foster care experience face paying for college and recommendations to ensure that all foster youth have a fair shot at pursuing their educational goals.
2024 Blueprint For Success Conference
The 2024 Blueprint for Success Conference will be a dynamic two-day event combining meaningful networking opportunities with in-depth workshops presented by professionals with a passion and aptitude for supporting foster youth to graduate college ready to thrive in the 21st century workplace.
This year’s event will be held on October 28/29, 2024, in Los Angeles at the LAX Westin. The conference will feature breakout sessions, plenary sessions with keynote speakers, and networking opportunities, including a reception on the evening of October 28.
In addition, eighty foster youth scholars will be selected to receive subsidized conference registration along with fully paid travel costs to attend the event. Scholars selected to attend will also receive training on networking, strategic sharing, foster care issues and education opportunities prior to the event.
To learn more and to register, please visit our conference website.
Please join John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY) for this “how-to” webinar to assist adult supporters working with foster youth and unaccompanied homeless youth to successfully complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or California Dream Act Application (CADAA). The webinar will review the FAFSA and CADAA, page by page, including detailed instructions on how eligible students can qualify as independent students for the purposes of maximizing financial aid. Presenters will also provide information on key steps to take after the FAFSA or CADAA is completed, such as creating a WebGrants account.
Save the Date to celebrate John Burton Advocates for Youth 20th anniversary and John Burton’s 92nd birthday.
Date: Thursday, December 12, 2024
Time: 5:00pm to 10:00pm
Location: Fairmont Hotel San Francisco
Invitation and details to follow.
More info: 415-348-0011
It is without question that college is unaffordable for many students, particularly those with the least resources. While crucial work is being done to expand the availability of financial aid, a less understood issue is how higher education institutions approach setting cost of attendance (COA) budgets, which impact how much financial aid students can receive.
This webinar will highlight findings from JBAY’s soon to be released, groundbreaking report, College Costs Uncovered: An Examination of the Accuracy of College Cost of Attendance Budgets and Implications for Student Success. JBAY compared COA budgets to regional living expenses and made startling discoveries regarding the accuracy of these budgets. Panelists will include institutional representatives along with the report authors who will share the findings and will provide actionable recommendations on institutional practices and state policies that can ensure COA budgets accurately reflect students’ true college costs and allow them to access critical financial aid that supports their academic success.
Please join John Burton Advocates for Youth for a web seminar marking the release of a best practices publication guiding local administration of special population Housing Choice Vouchers for former foster youth. This webinar and its accompanying publication aim to equip child welfare agencies, Public Housing Authorities and community partners with best practices to maximize FYI/FUP vouchers. The practices were the basis of, and informed by, a recent community of practice led by JBAY in partnership with the National Center for Housing and Child Welfare, focused on FYI/FUP vouchers. Over the course of the community of practice, the participating 15 counties increased their collective number of vouchers by 81%, with 11 counties now making use of the on-demand request process, up from one county at the start of the community of practice.
This year marks the second year of the California Foster Youth Tax Credit, the nation’s first and only tax credit for current and former foster youth. In 2023, the Foster Youth Tax Credit provided current and former foster in California with over $5 million, increasing income and decreasing rates of poverty. When combined with other state and federal tax credits, California’s foster youth directly received over $9 million.
In the 2024 tax season, John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY) and our partners piloted a range of strategies to increase the utilization of this important program. How did they work? What did we learn?
Find out on Wednesday, September 18th at 10:00 a.m. on a webinar hosted by JBAY. Joining the event will be our project partners: iFoster, Think of Us, The Community College Foundation, San Franciso Court Appointed Special Advocates, Bill Wilson Center, Santa Clara Social Services Agency, Lutheran Social Services and Beyond Emancipation.
In 2023, JBAY, along with eight of California’s leading college affordability advocates, sponsored Assembly Bill (AB) 789, which was signed into law by Governor Newsom. AB 789 requires post-secondary institutions, as a condition of participation in the Cal Grant program, to adhere to a common set of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards, remove additional requirements that are more restrictive than those federally mandated, and ensure students have clear pathways to regain financial aid.
This webinar will support financial aid offices in implementing the AB 789 provisions, which must be adopted by the start of the 2024-25 academic year. Attendees will learn about the new AB 789 requirements, identify strategies to create student-friendly, equity-based SAP policies and appeals processes, and receive resources and tools to update their institutional policies and practices.
Register here to attend:
John Burton Advocates for Youth improves the quality of life for youth in California who have been in foster care or homeless by advocating for better laws, training communities to strengthen local practices and conducting research to inform policy solutions.