Changing the Research Narrative on Former Youth in Foster Care: A Focus on Educational Success and Attainment

Background and Purpose: Youth in foster care have historically had challenges in the area of education attainment. Many foster youth have gone on to become social workers based on their personal experiences in the child welfare system; however, this is anecdotal information and has not yet been formally studied in the current scholarly literature. This qualitative study surveyed those adults who left the foster care system and became social workers, having completed their Masters in Social Work (MSW) or a Doctorate in Philosophy (PhD) in the Social Work field or equivalent. The goals of the current project were to: give voice to these former foster youth in what their lived experience has been to achieve their educational goals, why the individual chose the social work profession, what supports and services were available for them to achieve their social work career and educational goals, and their recommendations for policy, practice, and research. This is the first research project that has explored the voices of these individuals and their journey from foster care to an educational institution, and finally to a career in the social work field. For the purpose of this presentation, we will focus on the educational experiences data.

Methods: Fourteen in-depth structured interviews were conducted. Participants were recruited using snowball sampling. The researchers generated an initial list of prospective participants based upon research and practice experiences. The participants were interviewed using video conferencing. The average interview length was 90 minutes. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim and coded using Nvivo12. Data analysis was guided by grounded theory and the principles of Braun and Clarke’s six-phase process to conduct thematic analysis.

Results: Participants were between the ages of 25 to 54. The sample was predominantly female (8 females, 5 males, and 1 participant who described himself as male, gay, and queer), single (7 single, 6 married, and 1 in a relationship), African Americans (10 African American, 1 African American/Native American, 1 Puerto Rican, 1 Bi-racial, and 1 mixed) with MSWs (9 MSW only, 3 MSW/PhD, 1 MSW/DSW, and 1 MSW/enrolled in a PhD program).

Themes of group home support, family support, social service support and self-motivation emerged in the area of encouragement to attend college. Student loans, scholarships, research assistantships and employment were themes of how participants paid for college. During college, participants lived in campus housing, transition housing, family housing, and their own living space. Participants stated that faith/spirituality practices like church attendance and prayer helped to reduce anxiety, provided motivation, and a sense of a special purpose.

Conclusions and Implications: Findings highlight the power of encouragement and expectations to attend college from key relationships. Implications include the need for academic and career coaches, mentorship, consistency from social workers, more financial assistance, and additional resources to support college attendance. Future research should explore the experiences of former foster youth who choose other career paths.