You love your children and want only the best for them. There are thousands of children in the United States that do not have a caring family that’s there for them.

For National Adoption Month in November last year I shared the story of a family that has fostered 35 children over the years. Not everyone can become a foster parent or adopt a foster child but there are other ways to help.

May is National Foster Care Month.  Each year about 30,000 young people leave the foster care system without lifelong families.  Without support, they struggle with getting jobs, going to college and making ends meet.  Many end up on the street and some have children and perpetuate the cycle.  The college graduation rate for foster care children is only three percent. 

But there are programs out there that are improving that rate. One is Foster Care to Success (FCS).  It provides scholarships, mentors, academic coaching, care packages and internships for college aged kids who have left the foster care system.  Foster Care to Success has a 60 percent graduation rate.

If you are interested in helping a foster care child who has aged out, now is the time to apply.  The Academic Success Program (ASP) accepts applications May 1 through July 15 annually. The screening and training process takes approximately four weeks. Coaches are matched with students and begin working together between August 15th and September 30th depending on students’ schedules.

To be an academic coach, you must be over the age of 25, make a two semester commitment to the program, pass a background check and watch three training webinars. You will then be matched with three to four students, either incoming freshmen or those whom are at risk of failing or dropping out of college.  You need to communicate with your students at least once a week, participate in short monthly support calls and complete a brief online assessment bi-monthly and a longer program evaluation survey at the end of each semester.

FCS is also always looking for donations for scholarships, care packages and for the Red Scarf fund which is an emergency fund for the foster care graduates.

A new support system for aging out foster care children is also launching this July.  A project of the Tides Center known as the Camellia Network, it has already helped one foster child get to the college where he had a scholarship waiting for him.

The Camellia Network is gathering support and looking for people who can donate or fundraise and companies that can provide services, resources, internships or job opportunities.  You can sign up at the above link to get more information sent to you.

The failure of our foster care system to place children in adoptive homes does not need to be the end of the story for these young adults.  With just a couple of hours a week, people can make a difference in a life.