State gives foster kids a chance

Oregon will soon join a growing number of states—including Florida, Kentucky and Texas—that offer full tuition waivers to foster kids entering higher education. The idea began as a grass roots campaign by the very children that the bill is sponsoring.

Only 6 percent of Oregon youth raised in foster care go on to earn a college degree. These wards, unless applying for additional state custody, become self-reliant at the age of 18. Many don’t have the resources or funding to attend a secondary school.

Nicole Stapp was in foster care for 11 years and lived in six different homes. She graduated from Chemeketa Community College with her Associate of Arts, Oregon Transfer this June.

She’d planned to attend PSU this fall, and though she’ll have to delay her enrollment by a year in order to qualify for the tuition waiver, she is grateful for the opportunity to be debt-free.

“This bill actually gives me a chance to focus on school alone,” Stapp said. “Instead of working multiple jobs, I’ll only have to work one. My hope for this bill and what it will do for other foster youth is to spread hope. And of course, along with degrees and success comes the fact that this bill gives foster youth the support and opportunity that they need to break the cycle of poverty, abuse and just the simple feeling of hopelessness.”

Advocating for youths like Stapp is a group called Children First for Oregon that includes Oregon Foster Youth Connection under its umbrella.

Pamela Butler, outreach coordinator for Children First, founded OFYC in 2008. A former child living in foster care herself, she saw the need for the people experiencing the system to advocate for themselves.

OFYC membership grew from four people in 2008 to 75 members just three years later.

At an OFYC retreat last year, youth discussed ways that other kids in their positions could be better assisted. Access to higher education was a recurring theme.

The young people created proposals, vetted them and then met with legislators.

Next, Rep. Michael Dembrow (D-NE Portland) drafted HB 3471.

To qualify for the waiver, youth must have spent 12 months or more in foster care between the ages of 16 and 18 and be pursuing a post-secondary education within three years of high school graduation.

The bill is designed to grant tuition assistance to the last dollar. Eligible students apply through FAFSA, and the state tuition waiver covers whatever costs aren’t addressed by federal aid like the Pell grant and the Oregon Opportunity grant.

“Children First has a grant that’s helped with implementing this bill,” Butler said. “Their job is to educate foster youth about this opportunity and how you can get there. If you meet these standards, we can guarantee you can go to college.”

The waiver applies to tuition at all public and community colleges and is limited to the cost of attending the University of Oregon.

Butler, who graduated from UO in 2007, knows that youths growing up in foster care fight an uphill battle.

“I came out of foster care very motivated. I applied for every scholarship on the planet,” she said. “I received the Pell grant, private scholarships…I almost had a full ride. There are so many of the youth that have so many things backed against them. It’s a relief that we can give back to those who are less fortunate in the system.”

One caveat in the bill is that interested students are required to complete 30 hours of community service, an idea that Butler said the students proposed.

For Butler, who has been advocating for rights of foster youth since she graduated, the imminent passing of this waiver is a watershed moment she can’t describe.

“It feels like we gave back to so many of our brothers and sisters in foster care,” she said.

Jessica Moskovitz, communications manager at Children First of Oregon, added that the bill only goes as far as most parents do.

“For these kids, the state is their family,” she said. “This is just a chance for the state to step up and do what any parent would do.”

Children First also helped pass Oregon Healthy Kids, a bill rendering all children in Oregon eligible for healthcare. ?