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The Relationship Between Financial Aid and Postsecondary Completion Among Youth Formerly in Foster Care

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Abstract

Students with a foster care background experience significant disparity in enrollment and postsecondary completion when compared to their peers without foster care experience. A number of barriers exist that may impact college persistence and completion. Finances and inadequate financial aid are often identified as a primary concern for students with a foster care background who are attending college. Using a national sample, this study examined the relationship between receipt of financial aid and the likelihood of completing a postsecondary credential among students with a foster care background. Findings indicate that financial aid has a positive relationship with earning a postsecondary credential, however, other sources of financial support and services were not always indicative of positive outcomes. Study findings reinforce the importance of social support, postsecondary education support services, academic support services, and employment as postsecondary education promoters. Several policy and practice implications are discussed that are relevant in postsecondary education settings, and child welfare settings.

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Notes

  1. We use the terms postsecondary, higher education, and college interchangeably to refer to any formal schooling beyond the secondary level.

  2. We exclude youth who reported being incarcerated at any point up until age 17 because conviction of a drug offense, sexual offense, felony, or misdemeanor disqualifies one from receiving financial aid.

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  1. College of Education and Human Development, University of Louisville, 343 Porter Building, Louisville, KY, 40292, USA

    Jacob P. Gross & Emma Uhls

  2. University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, USA

    Jennifer M. Geiger

  3. Northwestern Evaluation Association (NWEA), Portland, USA

    Gregory King

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Gross, J.P., Geiger, J.M., Uhls, E. et al. The Relationship Between Financial Aid and Postsecondary Completion Among Youth Formerly in Foster Care. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 40, 207–219 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-022-00884-y

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