Improving the College & Career Outcomes of Foster and Adopted Youth

While almost all foster and adopted youth want to attend college, less than 3 percent will receive a bachelor’s degree within their lifetime. Additionally, a review of the National Youth in Transition Database shows that only 3 percent of aged out foster youth in Connecticut will receive an associate degree by age 21.

While Connecticut offers generous college subsidies as an effort to alleviate the financial barrier toward accessing a college education, only 3 to 7 percent of students enrolled will graduate. Students who fail to complete their college degree once enrolled, some after already having received 1 to 2 years of state funding, dropout—a demonstrable loss of millions in taxpayer dollars.

 Additionally, foster and adopted youth have higher rates of incarceration, homelessness, and poorer lifelong outcomes than their peers, all at the expense of state funds and loss of potential human capital. There are many studies that match fiscal benefits with greater college attainment.

The direct savings of both the secured and retained investment of Connecticut’s college-enrolled foster youth and subsequent benefit to the state through improved human capital substantiate the entirety of the SUN Scholars’ budget. SUN Scholars Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the recruitment and retention of foster and adopted youth in the state of Connecticut through academic readiness, mentoring grounded in best-practices, advocacy, and resource coordination to combat food and housing insecurity.

“This intersection of skills has culminated in a proven track record of increased enrollment, retention, and ultimately college graduation rates of former foster and adopted youth.”

 This is accomplished through a representative workforce of professional former foster youth, trauma informed pedagogy, and expertise in student development of higher education. This intersection of skills has culminated in a proven track record of increased enrollment, retention, and ultimately college graduation rates of former foster and adopted youth.

We tackle the social inequities alumni of foster care often face through community based approaches to cultivating self-efficacy, self-regard, and move individuals forward on the process to self-actualization. We pride ourselves in our unique mentoring strategies, which include trauma-informed and multi-cultural pedagogical approaches to supporting our college age youth.

Sun Scholars is unique in that staff consists of former foster and adopted youth.  We believe in validating the youth’s lived experiences, while also acknowledging and celebrating all dynamics of their identities and work toward building a community of collective success.

Our student support coordinators function as direct mentors who can support and advocate for our students. In addition to our academic and career coaching, we are here to ensure that we are able to connect students with resources within their community, university, post-secondary educational institution, and beyond.

Sun Scholars Inc. is based in Hartford.  To learn more about their work, visit https://sunscholarsinc.org/ or contact info@sunscholarsinc.org   

CT by the Numbers is pleased to periodically share the stories of nonprofit organizations in Connecticut, and the impact they have on our state and its residents, in their own words.