Session: One Size Doesn't Fit All: Documenting the Heterogeneous Needs and Outcomes of Transition-Age Youth in Higher Education (Society for Social Work and Research 30th Annual Conference Anniversary)

Postsecondary education carries a wide range of benefits in adulthood, including financial security and upward social mobility. Nevertheless, postsecondary access and completion remain precarious for transition-age youth with foster care experience (TAY). Despite policy and programmatic investments, TAY are less likely their peers without foster care experience to enroll in postsecondary institutions and, among those who do, just 8-12% complete a degree (vs. 49% of same-aged peers; Okpych et al., 2025). The persistence of these disparities calls for research that captures the heterogenous needs and experiences of TAY to better inform policy.

Of note, we know little about the postsecondary outcomes of TAY attending community college and TAY formerly involved in both the child welfare and juvenile legal systems (i.e., dually-involved youth). Over 80% of TAY who enter higher education will attend community college, while nearly a third are incarcerated before their 18th birthday. Still, these populations are seldomly reflected in study samples. Most research relies on convenience samples of TAY attending four-year institutions, yielding results that, by some estimates, apply to a minority of TAY in higher education. Research on the postsecondary trajectories of dually-involved TAY is especially scant, although preliminary evidence shows less than 3% of dually-involved youth attending community college attain an associate degree within ten years (Culhane et al., 2011). Thus, an increased empirical focus on these populations can provide the nuanced research needed to craft responsive policies.

Our symposium features three presentations on TAY in community colleges and dually-involved TAY pursuing postsecondary education. All three studies are based in California, the state with the largest share of the U.S. foster care population. The first two papers share findings from the first study to link population-level administrative case records from California's Child Welfare Services Case Management System (CWS/CMS) to administrative data from the California Community College Chancellor's Office (CCCCO). Paper 1 describes the prevalence of community college attendance among TAY and compares the college outcomes students with and without foster care experience. Paper 2 examines variation in community college outcomes by youth characteristics, including foster care history, behavioral health, and disability status. Finally, Paper 3 uses longitudinal survey data from the California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study (CalYOUTH) to model the postsecondary trajectories and outcomes of dually-involved youth between ages 17 and 23. Our findings address substantial gaps in the research record and provide an empirical basis to further align services and policies with the diverse needs of TAY pursuing postsecondary education.

Presenters are researchers and affiliates of the Transition-Age Youth Research and Evaluation Hub (TAY-Hub), a research collaborative specializing in applied research and evaluation related to the policies and practices affecting TAY. Housed within the California Child Welfare Indicators Project at UC Berkeley, the TAY-Hub builds upon CalYOUTH, the most comprehensive study of TAY leaving foster care and California's extended foster care policy. Grounded in engagement with the child welfare services community and young people with foster care experience, our work informs California's ongoing refinement of transitional services for young adults leaving care.