THEY FACE UNIMAGINABLE BARRIERS. Today, more than 400,000 American kids are in foster care. Right here in Silicon Valley, the innovation capital of the world, thousands of foster youth are falling through the cracks.
Barriers to success
89% of foster youth want to attend college but only 3% earn a bachelor's degree
44% of Santa Clara County foster youth are chronically absent from high school
4x
50%
75%
drop out of high school
25% are homeless
of foster youth are performing below grade level
25%
47%
have little or no work experience
20%
are incarcerated
of foster youth receive special education services
Average rate that teens in foster care move during high school
Photo of Pivotal Scholar, Noah, at Gavilan College 4
By age 20
Through no fault of their own, foster youth find themselves facing barriers most young people never have to overcome. Constantly moving homes and changing schools, adapting to new places, and grappling with persistent trauma can be nearly impossible to manage. With so much instability, their dreams and future often take a back seat.
THE PIVOTAL IMPACT. In the 2019-2020 academic year, your generous contributions to Pivotal helped us make a deep and lasting impact. Pivotal scholars graduate college at
92% the rate of their foster youth peers
552 high school & college youth served
148
college scholarships awarded
“
90%
of high school scholars would recommend Pivotal to other foster youth
of 2020 summer internships completed
95%
84%
of our post-secondary scholars completed career exploration and/or declared a college major
of graduating seniors completed their FASFA application by the March deadline to receive full federal & state financial aid packages
90%
85%
program retention rate among youth in college
of Pivotal alumni want to pay it forward by mentoring a younger foster youth
To all the Pivotal donors out there, you are changing our lives! Thank you! – Mac H., Pivotal Alumnus 6