College planning starts early for many children, with college visits, test preparation and carefully selected courses.
That is often not the case for foster youth, like JBAY Youth Advocate Emmerald Evans. College wasn’t a topic raised in her foster home and despite good grades and a strong desire to attend college, she didn’t think that college was possible. Changing foster homes and schools didn’t help.
John Burton Advocates for Youth is working to ensure that foster youth like Emmerald know about college and are well prepared. Through a partnership with Foster Parent College, JBAY developed a two-part curriculum for foster parents, to educate them about how to help youth in their care make a successful transition to college.