Closing the Gap: Understanding the Impact of the Expanded Middle Class Scholarship for Students with Foster Care History

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 highlights new findings from a 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 reveals 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.  

This webinar features panelists from JBAY and the Urban Institute as well as Senator Angelique Ashby and Wednesday Pope, a college student with lived experience in foster care.