College IS for Foster Youth!

Engage residents and stakeholders

Expand a pilot or a program

Percent of community college students completing a certificate, degree, or transfer-related program in six years

District-wide graduation rates

HS student proficiency in English & Language Arts and Math

College matriculation rates

UFC has created an 11-year education support continuum that follows foster youth from the seventh grade through the completion of a Bachelor’s degree. UFC’s College Readiness (CRP) and College Sponsorship (CSP) programs work harmoniously to create this pipeline for success.

The goal of the CRP is to help foster youth graduate from high school ready to succeed at a 4-year college or university. The CRP supports students from 7th through 12th grades. College Counselors meet one-on-one with each student in their homes and maintain frequent contact with students via telephone and email. The content of these meetings is driven by both the student’s needs and the counselor’s recommendations. Counselors serve as the main conduit for delivering a range of program content to CRP students. Acknowledging the crucial role caregivers have in helping maintain stability for students, UFC offers training in communication, conflict resolution, and other subjects designed to help them cope during a challenging developmental stage in the lives of all youth.

UFC also uses monthly Saturday workshops and college tours, facilitated by CRP College Counselors, to deliver program content, and encourage social interaction and the development of a college-bound culture among participants. Through these various activities, participation in the program helps students to earn their high-school diploma, graduate four-year-college eligible, apply to and attend college. We will serve 500 youth in the CRP in the coming year.

The College Sponsorship Program is a commitment of personal and financial support for up to 5 years to foster youth attending 4-year institutions. In addition to a $15,000/ five-year scholarship, each youth is paired one-on-one with a College Counselor. Counselors serve as the key source of support, guidance and as a resource throughout a student’s college experience. The program also includes paid internships, enrichment activities and post-graduation planning. By keeping youth involved, engaged, and interested in their education through close, mentoring relationships with UFC counselors, the CSP is increasing college graduation rates for foster youth.

In ever increasing numbers, youth are graduating from high school through the CRP and attending universities through the CSP. In 2015, 25 seniors participating in the CRP joined the latest cohort in the CSP. In total, more than 200 students will participate in the CSP.

Thanks to the generous support of the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, UFC is in the first phase of work that will result in an impact evaluation of our programs by an independent party. The overarching aim of this evaluation is to assess the effectiveness of UFC’s programs in improving outcomes for both current and former foster youth. In addition, we plan to study the impact of UFC’s relationship-based approach to serving youth.

UFC has been utilizing Social Solutions’ Efforts to Outcomes (ETO) database since 2009. As of January 2015, we have implemented redesigned “Touchpoints” – the interfaces that program staff uses to input data – for all UFC programs, and we are currently refining the process of data collection and reporting. UFC Counselors are responsible for entering data on all their interactions with the youth they serve. Review of the data is the role of our Outcomes & Evaluation Director, who we hired in June to oversee the entire process.

Money (financial capital)

Volunteers/staff (human capital)

Publicity/awareness (social capital)

Education/training

Community outreach

Network/relationship support