An Exploration of the Lived Experiences of African Americans Formerly in Foster Care Who Successfully Matriculated into College

Background/Purpose: Studies have found that foster care youths in general have significant educational barriers.  The rate at which foster care youths in general complete high school is 50%. This is significantly below the rate of their peers (non-foster care youths), which is 70%. The rate at which college-qualified foster care youths attend postsecondary education is 20%, which is also considerably below the 60% rate of non-foster care youths (Child Welfare League of America, 2008).  Studies on the educational attainment of older foster care youths consistently show they have low rates of high school completion. In contrast, studies have revealed that some foster care youth graduate from high school and attend postsecondary institutions (Courtney et al., 2007; Jones, 2010). While the literature has examined the postsecondary educational status and experiences of youths who age out of foster care, there is limited qualitative literature relating to aged-out foster care persons’ racial background and their experiences contributing to their enrollment in postsecondary institutions.  Consequently, there is a need for empirical literature on the experiences of African American youths who age out of foster care and successfully attend postsecondary institutions.  The purpose of this qualitative theory study was to explore the experiences of African Americans who aged out of the foster care system to determine the factors contributing to their decision to attend college.  

Methods: Data was collected through in-depth face to face interviews with ten African Americans (n= 2male and n= 8 females) who aged out of foster care and were enrolled in a four year college or recently graduated from a four year college. A grounded theory methodology was used to build theoretical findings.

Results: The findings showed that participants wanted to attend a postsecondary institution to achieve academic success with the certainty that it would lead to broader successes in life. The desire to be successful was motivated by their past misfortunes before and during their time in foster care; experiencing these misfortunes influenced their desire to improve their circumstances through further education. The participants were also inspired by social and community supports that assisted them in matriculating in college.

Conclusions and Implications: The implications of these findings are important to social work practice on the micro and macro levels.     On the micro level, they support an informative strengths-based practice with an empowerment emphasis, which involves culturally sensitive practices that are vital for providing services to African Americans aging out of foster care.  Forming supportive networks among these African American youths is also essential for their success.  On the macro level, consideration of culturally sensitive programs and practices defined in child welfare polices related to youths aging out of foster care is imperative for effective practice and successful outcomes.