Please

Support SB 15-131
Fostering Success Collaborative For Foster Youth
Senator Linda Newell/Representative Pettersen

Scary Statistics:
Youth being touched by the child welfare system are twice as likely to not graduate from
high school or college, and twice as likely to end up in the criminal juvenile justice
system, and more likely to end up receiving life-long beneAits from the state, costing the
state an average of over $300,000 per child over his/her lifetime.
84% of 17-18 year old foster youth want to go to college, but only about 2% of
former foster youth attain a bachelors degree.
Because students from foster care are often dealing with continuing barriers to a post-
secondary education, they often take much longer to graduate and often have a higher
need for remedial education going into college, thus paying for excess credits, adding to
the usual college costs of other students.
Youth coming from foster care have higher support needs to achieve independent living
due to numerous Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).
Students from foster care drop out earlier in their educational careers than other
populations.
17-18 year olds in foster care, on average, have a 7th grade reading level
Foster youth are 2.5 to 3.5 times as likely as other students to receive special education.
Only 50% of foster youth complete high school by 18.
Less than 28% of Colorado students who were in foster care during high school graduated
within 4 years of entering 9th grade.
Helping to get to self-sufAiciency, completing any college would raise foster youths work-
life earnings by $129,000 on average.
Solution/Bill Components:
College in Colorado would facilitate a public/private multi-agency, multi-organizational
Fostering Success Collaborative to align educational and support services for certain
youth currently or formerly in the care of the state and victims of human trafAicking to
transition to higher education or job development training.
The Collaborative would consist of representatives from the departments of Higher
Education, Human Services, Education, Labor and Employment, representatives from
county social services associations, the Colorado Work Force Development Council, and
the OfAice of the Governor, and non-proAits and foundations.
For youths to experience a successful transition to self-sufAiciency and independent living,
the Collaborative will align and integrate secondary and postsecondary education, child
welfare, and workforce development efforts across agencies, systems, and programs and
make recommendations to the General Assembly.
Design a plan for Fostering Success and scholarship programs at public institutions of
higher education with academic advisement and coaching support;
Authorizes the receipt and distribution of gifts, grants, and donations.

Please Support SB 15-131

Fostering Success Collaborative For Foster Youth
Senator Linda Newell/Representative Pettersen

There are 21 other states with similar programs including Arizona, Alaska, Kansas, Texas, Ohio,
North Carolina, Washington, Michigan, California, Maryland, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Virginia.
They have all formed some type of higher education and child welfare collaboration to improve
postsecondary outcomes for these students. Although each of these states has taken on this
systems work in different ways, they all understand that higher education and child welfare need
to work closely together to improve postsecondary education outcomes for young adults coming
from foster care experiences.
Sources: NCSL and Casey Family Programs

Supporters of SB 15-131
Department of Higher Education
Metro State University
Aims Community College
Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault
Rocky Mountain Childrens Law Center
Court Appointed Special Advocates
Colorado OfAice of the Childs Representative