Request to the Farrell Family Foundation in Support of our College Bound Program for Transitioning Foster Youth Date: Name of Organization: IRS Employer Identification Number (EIN): Chief Administrative Officer: Telephone: Contact Person/Title: Mailing Address: Street or P.O. Box City, State, Zip Telephone: Fax: Contact Person Email Web Address : Target Audience:
Mission Statement:
Program Area:
Request:
March 14, 2013 Just in Time for Foster Youth (JIT)
20-5448416 Don Wells, Executive Director (858) 663-2081 Don Wells, Executive Director
PO Box 81292, San Diego, CA. 92138 (858) 663-2081 (619) 295-5738 dwells@JITFosterYouth.org http://www.jitfosteryouth.org Transitioning Foster Youth ages 18-26 Just In Time for Foster Youth (JIT) provides transitioning foster youth with opportunities for self-sufficiency through emergency support, essential resources, and caring personal guidance at critical junctures on their path to independence. The College Bound program provides college-bound foster youth with computers, printers, other tech tools, books and school supplies, as well as furnishings for their dorm rooms or college apartments and a JIT guide to assist with this process. We also offer budget guidance and legal tips at our College Bound award ceremony. We are assisting 75 qualified youth College Bound (June 2013) @ $1,000-$1,500 based on level of funding. $20,000 for 20 College Bound youth awards
MISSION AND VISION STATEMENTS Recognizing that temporary housing, college scholarships and other support for transitioning
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foster youth still leave a critical gap, Just In Time for Foster Youth (JIT) is dedicated to improving the lives of a neglected population, youth, ages 18-26, transitioning from foster care with little or no family support. JIT’s relationship-based extended family approach to service, coupled with our comprehensive array of resources, is unique and effective in helping youth attain self-sufficiency levels significantly higher than the appalling national averages. Providing essential resources at critical junctures delivered by a caring family of volunteers greatly improves the chances of our youth: securing steady employment with decent pay; establishing and sustaining stable housing; managing finances for the long term; forming their own stable families; steering clear of the criminal justice system; and ultimately making meaningful contributions to society. Through our upcoming College Bound program in June 2013, the JIT extended family will come together to give dozens of transitioning foster youth the resources and encouragement they need to begin a new life chapter as college students. Specifically, JIT will identify 75 highly motivated former foster youth who have beaten the odds in graduating from high school and getting accepted to college. They will be connected with potential lifelong mentors and successful JIT College Bound Alumni, receive laptops and printers, learn valuable tips on money management, legal matters and practical purchases, and pair up with a JIT volunteer guide for a shopping spree to buy essential dorm furnishings and school supplies. They will also be eligible to participate in other JIT programs such as Financial Fitness, Emergency/Basic Needs, and Mentoring/Guidance. JIT's board of directors, College Bound committee, and numerous volunteers undertake the required CB program tasks, such as recipient selection, coordination of volunteer/youth teams, dorm shopping, and celebration planning. The College Bound Class of 2013 will join other dedicated, deserving and grateful young people as we fulfill the promise, not only to help get them started in higher education, but to also provide the consistent, caring connection that will encourage them to stay in school and to graduate. NEED While there is some support for transitioning foster youth in the form of housing, college scholarships, and other services, JIT mobilizes the community to fill the gaps of essential resources. We use a unique, relationship-based, extended family model to meet the fundamental need for a consistent caring connection that has eluded foster youth while in care and in transition. Specifically, College Bound addresses the need for effective long-term support to navigate higher education. As one youth expressed in a JIT survey: "When I first left for UCLA, Just in Time was there to help me. I am now in my senior year at UCLA and JIT has still been there to support me toward achieving my goal of graduating. They have truly always helped give me the resources to make this possible." Continuous opportunities for positive relationships and networking connections are at the heart of what we do and also what sets us apart from agencies that simply provide resources. By supporting the youth through this holistic approach, we are able to achieve outcomes very different from the sobering statistics on former foster youth in our state and nation. Publicized at the 2010 National Child Welfare’s Symposium, the most comprehensive study in two decades revealed an alarming reality for foster youth who have been out of foster care an average of four years:
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o Only 48% were working, compared with 72% of their peers, and median income was $8,000 compared to $18,300 for their peers o Nearly 25% did not have a high school diploma or a GED o 60% of the young men had been convicted of a crime, compared to 10% of their peers o 33% didn’t have enough to eat at some point in the past year The Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Social Policy Report on foster youth transitioning to adulthood in the US (2009) cited studies showing former foster youth reach poor levels of educational attainment when compared to their peers, including: o 58% of foster youth in their sampling had obtained a high school degree by age 19, compared to 87 % of a national comparison group o Youth who have aged out of foster care receive relatively little in the way of transition services The Cities, Counties and Schools (CCS) Partnership studied the plight of emancipated foster youth specifically in California (2007) and found that: • • • • •
Within 18 months of emancipation, 40-50% of former foster youth become homeless 60% of youth emancipate into destitution, earning incomes at or below $6,000 per year 50% experience high rates of unemployment within five years 70% of youth report wanting to go to college, while only 10% attend and less than 1% graduate 25% of foster youth will be in prison within two years of emancipation
JIT recognizes and immediately addresses the need to have lifelong relationships with caring adults, to obtain an education and launch a career, to learn fiscal management, to save and build assets, and to acquire basic needs such as the setting up of a household and purchasing a vehicle. And as the statistics show us, any delays in meeting these minimal yet essential needs can result in a far greater cost to our community. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES JIT projects that 75% of College Bound participants will remain in school into their second year of participation in the program and 50% will go on to graduate or receive certifications versus the 1-3% national graduation rate. Based on a recent update of past participants, our outcomes are even better and exceeding our expectations: 68% are still on track to complete their college degree. This effectively demonstrates that JIT is positively impacting the dismal graduation rates typical of former foster youth, thus increasing the odds of their securing meaningful employment and ultimately becoming self-sufficient adults. IMPLEMENTATION AND WORK PLAN Complete by April 30th: JIT provides an online application and program information to more than 60 organizations, schools, and partnering agencies in San Diego County. Our goal is to engage every high school in San Diego and any agency working with current and former foster youth. We include a unique opportunity for youth to meet with Volunteer Faculty Members for a chance to
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improve their application essays through one-on-one tutoring. Complete by May 1st: JIT compiles the applications with essays and any accompanying documents and scans each application for the review committee of 10 volunteers with strong education backgrounds. From this application pool, JIT selects approximately 75 students to receive essential supplies such as laptops, printers, dorm setups and school supplies. Complete by June 2013: A mixer will be held on June 8 to connect youth to possible volunteer relationships and college resources followed by a shopping trip for necessary supplies on June 22. Both events include valuable presentations, including: Finances (budgeting, saving, investing, credit cards); Legal Issues for anyone 18 and over; Past participants’ advice about the challenges of college life how to overcome them; College counselors’ guidance on the resources available to youth on their college campuses; and ways that Just in Time can be their support system. Participants are then contacted periodically by staff and volunteers to track progress and offer further encouragement and assistance. Status reports & surveys are entered into the College Bound database. Many youth also engage in other JIT programs, further enhancing their likelihood for success. The College Bound program is led by Associate Director Meredith Praniewicz. Ms. Praniewicz is a graduate of the University of California San Diego with a major in Political Science and minor in Literature. As JIT's first full-time Program Director and one of JIT's first recipients, she helps guide former foster youth to create a stable home, achieve financial success, graduate from college, and navigate career options. She has been recognized numerous times in the community, including YNPN’s Outstanding Young Nonprofit Leader of the Year (2010), nominee for the Ruth Massigna Leadership Award (2009), and the Child Abuse Prevention Foundation’s Youth Leader Award (2007). She is currently completing a Master’s in the University of San Diego Nonprofit Leadership and Management Program. The program is also supported by a volunteer coordinator, a program coordinator, and several AmeriCorps VISTA members who conduct outreach and follow-up. This enables us to track outcomes and provide additional connection to JIT programs. Our data shows that youth participating in multiple programs move to higher levels on our Self-Sufficiency Scale. PROGRAM BUDGET JIT expects to serve 75 youth through the College Bound program in 2013 by providing them with the resources necessary for college success paired with a caring volunteer shopper. The projected costs to fund each youth are as follows (based on prices from Wal-Mart): BUDGET: Per-youth Cost of College Bound $1,500 EDUCATIONAL TOOLS (laptop, software, printer) DORM/COLLEGE HOUSING FURNISHINGS: BASIC SHOOL SUPPLIES (Ink for printer, paper, backpack, etc.) MEASURABLE OUTCOMES SURVEY: ADMINISTRATIVE COST
$ 865.00 $ 310.00 $ 125.00 SUB TOTAL $1,300.00 $ 40.00 $ 160.00 TOTAL BUDGET/YOUTH: $1,500.00** TOTAL PROGRAM BUDGET (75 YOUTH): $112,500.00
**NOTE: Not all youth need nor receive the full $1,500 in supplies budgeted. Average cost per youth ranges
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from $1,000 - $1,500. This request of $20,000 assumes supporting approximately 20 youth at $1,000 per youth.
MONITORING/EVALUATION Some of the measurable outcomes JIT uses to determine this program's success are:
College enrollment GPA >2.0 College completion of at least 2 years or more Graduation Graduate school or some other form of advanced academic training
College Bound participants are tracked and monitored throughout their time in higher education and regular reports are developed based on the JIT Self-Sufficiency Scale. Success is evaluated based on school enrollment over time, graduation or certification, and continuation on to graduate studies. The data collected is done through staff contact, connections to JIT volunteers (Faculty), and mandatory online surveys. For example, we have tracked the nearly 300 students who have been in the program since it launched and know that 77% have either graduated or remain enrolled in school. This process is managed by our Associate Director who is responsible for the implementation, ongoing management, and reporting process for all JIT programs that are distributed to the Executive Director, Board of Directors and funders. JIT has formed a partnership with an outside organization to review our data collection process in FY2014. JIT’s Executive Director will be responsible for the final report within six months of the grant award. OTHER FUNDING SOURCES Approximately $70,000 has been raised or committed from individual donors, civic/faith groups and grants: Bridgepoint Education, San Diego County Board of Supervisors, Farrell Family Foundation, Issa Family Foundation, Sundt Foundation, Goldberg Charitable Trust, Nordson Foundation, The Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Foundation, Howard Charitable Foundation, and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. FUTURE FUNDING The College Bound program does have some recurring funding commitments and individual support has increased with each year. Achieving higher graduation rates for more youth each year, however, requires the expansion of funding sources from a larger pool of investors, which will then translate into more college graduates annually.