Graduation from high school can be a time of uncertainty, especially for youth and young adults in foster care, but it can also open a world of opportunities. There are some postsecondary options that might be helpful as youth and young adults in foster care plan for the transition from high school to college or career. Here are some of the options and resources available in Virginia.
The Education and Training Voucher (ETV) Program provides funding for education, training, and services needed for employment
Great Expectations program provides a bridge from high school to college by connecting foster youth with an adult coach who provides mentoring and wrap around support.
G3 Tuition Assistance is for students living in Virginia who qualify for state financial aid and is available for select programs in five of Virginia’s most in-demand industries that are offered at Virginia’s community colleges.
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Youth Programs and Services offers a comprehensive range of services and workforce development activities to individuals seeking employment, including new entrants to the workforce, and individuals with disabilities.
The Success Foundation of VA (Richmond area) provides mentoring to young adults who have experienced foster care to help identify job and career aspirations and find sustainable employment that provides a living and career wage.
This fact sheet prepared by Formed Families Forward, in partnership with the WAZE to Adulthood project with the Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC) covers postsecondary educational options and resources for youth and young adults in foster care, kinship care, and adoptive homes, and who have disabilities in 5 states: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennesse.
The sheets are designed for parents, caregivers, professionals and youth.
Broadcast live on March 6, 2024, this web panel of experts focused on post-secondary options for young adults with disabilities that impact behavioral health.
Three panelists from Breakthru Services, Virginia Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS), and the ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia shared information on skill building services, the basics of eligibility for DARS post-high school services, as well as targeted supports available for young adults with mental health and neurobehavioral needs and other conditions which present challenges to traditional post-secondary education, training and employment options.
Originally broadcast on January 10, 2023. this webinar was presented by Annie Tulkin, MS, Accessible College LLC.
A website produced by the Department of Defense with data from the Departments of Commerce, Education and Labor. Site offers information and tools on post-high school career, education and military options.
The road to adulthood for youth with disabilities is filled with opportunity, and parents play a key role. PACER’s National Parent Center on Transition and Employment is ready with the information families want, presented in a way families can use. The site features a wide array of transition-related resources for families and youth.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) information on who is considered “Parent” for financial aid.
If you are considered a dependent student for FAFSA® purposes, you will need to provide information about your legal parent(s) on the application. A legal parent is your biological or adoptive parent, or your legal parent as determined by the state (for example, if the parent is listed on your birth certificate). If you have a stepparent currently married to your legal parent, you generally also must provide information about him or her.
The Learning & Working Transitions RTC at University of Massachusetts Medical Center focuses on youth and young adults ages 14-30 who have serious mental health conditions, conducting cutting-edge research on age appropriate programs that support education, training, and working during the transition to adulthood.
Dude, Where’s My Transition Plan? Guide from Formed Families Forward and PEATC.
The youth-friendly guide covers many of the basics of transition preparation and planning, including: