♪♪
Marshal: The foster care system can be really,
really messed up.
Through the foster care system,
I experienced just about every kind of abuse.
I've had to endure different types of punishments.
It was really rough.
Going to school and getting picked up by someone that
doesn't look like me and then all everyone is asking
is 'Who's that?' And not knowing how to answer that.
Christina: Marshal was just four years old when the
police arrived at his home and arrested his parents.
That moment began his entry into the
foster care system...
a journey that would place him in dozens of foster
homes, sometimes moving every two weeks,
until the age of 15.
Marshal: From there, it was like,
OK, this kid isn't going to make it in the foster home.
So from that point on I was in group homes
until I was 18.
That's where for me where my drug addiction started,
where my alcoholism really kicked off.
Christina: Drugs and alcohol...
lead to stints in jail, followed by periods when
Marshal slept in his car.
But today, Marshal is doing what would have seemed
impossible a decade ago he's four years sober,
and a thriving college student at
California State University, Monterey Bay.
He credits the Bill Wilson Center in Santa Clara
for helping him rise above his past.
He regularly meets with one of the center's case
managers, Rebecca Trejo, for guidance and support.
Rebecca: He's grown so much, just to see him from where
he came in, you know, struggling day-to-day.
The most basic things and seeing him
so successful now.
You know, being in his own apartment
it's just amazing. It amazes me.
Christina: The Bill Wilson Center,
and other foster care providers like it,
are placing more young people into college
than ever before.
It's part of a broader, statewide effort that
began in 2012.
That's the year California enacted a new law extending
foster care services from 18 until the age of 21.
Amy: What it's meant for California,
is now we have almost 9,000 18-to 21-year olds in
foster care in California.
And we, for the first time, have the opportunity to
really help them make a safe,
supported transition into post-secondary education.
Sparky: Fifteen years ago, working with kids leaving
the foster care system at age 18,
we used to focus on just getting them through
high school or a GED.
Well that started changing about ten years ago,
where we said, in Silicon Valley,
you need to have a college education.
So our focus became, let's get kids into college.
Let's get youth in foster care to
graduate from college.
Because that's what you need in this valley to get a good
job, a paying job, where you can be successful.
Diana: She is good at a lot of things.
She has the same name as you!
Christina: Diana hopes that college will provide a fresh
path for her, and her young daughter.
Diana was in the foster care system from the age of 9
until she aged out at 21.
Diana: I remember having to move around a lot.
And really that affected my studies because I was always
having to continuously adjust to different schools
and different classes and that's why I always felt
like I was behind.
Christina: Diana dropped out of high school when
she was 17 years old.
She earned her GED a year later.
But she knew she wanted more for her growing family.
She joined the Bill Wilson Center's Transitional
Housing Program, which provides a range of services
for foster youth through the age of 25 helping with
everything from rent to food and transportation.
Ashley Rarick is the supervisor of the program,
as well as Diana's case manager.
Ashley: For a lot of foster youth,
they've been to 20 or more schools and been interrupted
multiple times in one academic year.
So you can imagine constantly having to move
and get used a new teacher, a new structure.
What you were working on in the last class is no longer
being worked on in the new class.
So we start out by ensuring do they have
a high school diploma?
If not, we'll work with them on a plan to get there.
And then next, on to post-secondary education.
The case manager is there every step of the way,
helping that young person complete each
and every step.
They were always checking in on me to make sure that I
was meeting upcoming deadlines.
So that I could stay on track with school.
When I was in high school I felt like I wasn't prepared
and I didn't get the help that I needed.
In contrast to that, when I started at Evergreen Valley
College, Bill Wilson Center, they made sure that I was
prepared to go to school.
Christina: Today, Diana in her final semester at
Evergreen Valley College in San Jose.
She's earning two associates degrees.
Next, she's transferring to a four-year university.
Amy: This is really about helping young people,
you know, get that academic credential,
earn a place in, in the living wage economy,
and have the opportunities for themselves and their
family to, to live with security,
and to live with dignity.
Ashley: In in this area, particularly in Santa Clara
County, you cannot afford to live a decent life,
a stable life, where you're not at risk of homelessness,
without a college degree.
Or a vocational certificate beyond high school.
This is the climate that we're in.
Christina: Although more foster youth are accessing
college now, challenges remain.
Many do not understand the financial aid resources
available to them.
So even though all foster youth are eligible for the
Pell grant, only 50 percent of them are receiving it.
An even fewer number are getting the Cal grant.
And many do not realize they can get help with
career technical education.
Amy: That's a very common misconception.
If a young person wants to go into a shorter-term
training program, they think,
"Well, I don't have to do the FAFSA, um,
because I'm going to be in the automotive,
uh, program at a local community college."
That is also eligible.
Those funds can also be used to offset the real
costs that go with those kind of programs.
Christina: Diana says...
she wants other foster kids to know that there are
resources available to them, financial or otherwise.
Diana: If they do choose to go to college,
know that they're going to be well supported and that
many opportunities are going to be heading their way.
But most importantly that they aren't in it alone.
Christina: For Marshal, he says he still deals with the
trauma he went through as a child,
memories that will never completely disappear....
Marshal: It's hard to overcome that.
And that really prohibits us from being successful.
Christina: But today, he IS successful.
He's on the path to graduate with a bachelor's degree
in collaborative health and community services,
with an emphasis in social work.
Marshal: Today my goal is to be a social worker and
effect positive change, you know,
and it's beautiful.
This journey is hard, but it is doable and worth it.
Narr: Did you know?
Foster youth get priority registration at California
community colleges and California State University
campuses under current state law.
Foster youth are also given priority for on-campus
housing at CSU campuses.
During academic breaks, foster youth are allowed
to stay in the housing at no additional cost.
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