Back to College and Training 2020: An Editable Toolkit for Assisting Youth with Experience in Foster Care or Homelessness
The COVID-19 pandemic poses challenges to all students as they plan to begin or return to programs of higher education and training this fall. Making the remote learning experience a good one for students, staying healthy, meeting basic needs, and staying connected to a support system are all challenges young people must confront. For young people with experience in foster care and homelessness, these are challenges that they may face on their own. Planning for the coming school year is complicated, and young people with experience in foster care and homelessness need our assistance. Our continued advocacy can make sure they get the support they need to make important decisions and access the services and resources crucial to their success this school year. This toolkit from the Juvenile Law Center, SchoolHouse Connection, and Youth Villages contains the following elements:
- Tips for Advocates and supporters of young people so advocates can provide assistance to students as they plan for the coming year.
- Tips for Higher Education Institutions so institutions and their support staff can develop effective policies that are responsive to the needs of young people with experience in foster care and homelessness.
- A list of general resources for students.
The Tips for Advocates is a national resource. However, we have provided this tool in an editable format and encourage advocates to make state-specific changes to the document so that it can be as useful as possible to young people in your state. If you create a state-specific resource, we would love to see it and learn from it.