Supporting Educational Attainment of Young Adults with Foster Care Experience: Evaluation of the Great Expectations Program

Background. Youth and young adults (YYAs) with foster care experience (FCE) have lower postsecondary educational achievement than their non-foster care peers. Although most YYAs with FCE want to go to college, far fewer ever attend. Further, those who do attend earn fewer credits, have lower grades, and are less likely to earn a degree than other students. Common barriers to college success for YYAs with FCE include lack of knowledge about and preparation for college, economic and housing instability, lack of personal and institutional support, and behavioral health challenges associated with traumatic experiences.

Some states have implemented programs in college settings that support students with FCE. One such program is Great Expectations (GE), a coaching program implemented by the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). GE provides an array of services – such as assistance with financial aid application, course selection, and career planning; mentoring and life skills training (e.g., employability skills); connection to other campus resources; and access to material needs like housing, transportation, and health care – that address many barriers to college success for students with FCE. Initially launched in five schools in 2008, GE was incrementally rolled out to additional VCCS schools over time; by 2023, the program was available in all 23 VCCS schools.

This study evaluated the effects of GE on student outcomes, including persistence, credits accrued, credentials achieved, and employment while enrolled in community college.

Methods. This study involved secondary analysis of VCCS administrative data. We used an interrupted time series design that leveraged the staggered rollout of GE to control for underlying school and time effects and isolate GE program effects from time-invariant confounders. Participants included students ages 18-26 who enrolled in VCCS schools from 2007-2023 and were in foster care after turning 13, as indicated on their financial aid applications (N = 8,504). Rates of persistence (i.e., continuous enrollment for two years or achieving a credential first), cumulative credits earned, credentials achieved, and semesters employed were observed for annual student cohorts. Within each year of observation, schools that had not yet implemented GE provided a comparison condition for those that had. We fit fixed-effects models that regressed each outcome on GE exposure while controlling for dummy school and year to estimate program effects.

Results. Exposure to GE was associated with statistically significant increases in persistence (OR = 1.40, 95% CI [1.13, 1.74]), cumulative credits earned (IRR = 1.13, 95% CI [1.02, 1.26]), and achieving a credential (HR = 1.39, 95% CI [1.20, 1.62]). GE had no effect on employment while enrolled in school.

Implications. Findings suggest that GE improves academic outcomes for students with FCE, which can help to reduce achievement gaps in postsecondary education for this population. Although GE had no impact on employment while enrolled in community college, its effects on academic performance can still support students in future career goals and related outcomes like economic stability. These findings show the benefits of college support programs like GE for YYAs with FCE during their transition to adulthood.