September 29, 2008

California State University, Fresno’s new Renaissance Scholars Program, designed to assist former foster youth obtain a college degree, will be formally launched Monday, Sept. 29, with its first 30 students. The program is funded by grants from the Walter S. Johnson Foundation and the California Wellness Foundation.

The Renaissance scholars will be introduced and the fundors acknowledged during a reception from 5:30 to7 p.m. at the University House. The Walter S. Johnson Foundation awarded the new program a three-year $300,000 grant in February, and the California Wellness Foundation awarded $180,000 in July.

The program, housed in the Division of Student Affairs, provides students a strong network of support and services, such as admission assistance, individual and group counseling, academic monitoring, mentoring, and enrollment guidance. Renaissance scholars also receive stipends and access to an emergency.

Program coordinator Kizzy Lopez said the new program will assist former foster youth make the difficult transition to adulthood without the traditional support most take for granted. Foster youth who “age-out” of the system, usually at age 18, “are expected to be self-sufficient without the financial means to care for even their basic needs,” Lopez said. She said the first year after foster youth age-out of the system one-third will be on public assistance; a quarter will be jailed within two years after leaving the system. While 70 percent of foster children report they would like to go to college, fewer than 10 percent actually enroll, and only one to two percent graduate with a four-year degree.

“The state of foster youth pursuing postsecondary education is tragic,” said Lopez. “Many young people fall through the cracks, but some have the desire to make a significant change in their lives by pursuing a college degree.”

“The Renaissance Scholars Program will help those desires become a reality by assisting them to get into Fresno State, keeping them here and helping them graduate,” Lopez, herself a former foster child, said. Once admitted, they participate in a summer program to prepare them for college life, then they continue to meet with counselors and receive opportunities to take part in academic and extracurricular activities.

The program also teams with University Courtyard to provide year-round housing, including summer and winter breaks, when many former foster youth have no home to go to when school ends, Lopez said. Holiday dinners help create a sense of family. A campaign to enlist local community partners received a $1,600 gift in June from AAA of Northern California, Nevada and Utah. The Walter S. Johnson Foundation grant can’t be used for such things as student housing during the summer or for hardships, said Dr. Paul Oliaro, vice president of Student Affairs.

“AAA’s gift, along with support from other partners, will help us with several objectives such as building an emergency fund if a participant encounters unanticipated expenses such as eyeglasses, lost books,” he said.

Long-term objectives for the fund would be to underwrite housing for the summer and eventually help sustain the program beyond the life of the three-year grant, said Maxine McDonald, executive director of Student Success Services.

The Walter S. Johnson Foundation, headquartered in Menlo Park, helps youth become successful adults by preparing them to participate fully in their education, their workplaces and their communities.

The mission of the California Wellness Foundation is to improve the health of the people of California through health promotion, wellness education and disease prevention.

In May, the California State University system was awarded a three-year $600,000 grant from the Stuart Foundation to increase the quality and number of foster youth programs. Those funds will help create the CSU Foster Youth in Higher Education project to work on increasing retention and graduation rates of students who were in foster care.