Homeless and Foster Youth, Racial Inequality, and Policy Shifts for Systemic Changes

Background | Overview | Researcher | Final Report | Funding

“Homeless and Foster Youth, Racial Inequality, and Policy Shifts for Systemic Changes” examines economic, social, and political forces that result in racial disparities within foster and homeless youth. The project explores the unique circumstances that these youth experience that directly impact their access to educational opportunities. This project is one of five funded through the Pullias Center Equity Alumni Award.

Background

Foster and homeless youth have lower educational attainment and college access due to social, economic, and logistical issues. A large number of foster and homeless youth are also disproportionately Black and members of the LGBTQ community. This project is created to study how the confluence of homeless and foster youth identities and their experiences in and out of the classroom creates unique barriers to educational success, especially when it comes to accessing postsecondary education. 

Project Overview and Goals

This project consisted of a literature review that studies the intersection between foster or homeless youth, their racial and sexual identities, and how the confluence of these experiences directly impact their access to postsecondary educational opportunities. Lead researcher James Ward reviewed current state policies that seek to improve postsecondary opportunities for foster and homeless youth, and identify gaps that will require recommendations necessary to accurately and appropriately address the comprehensive set of needs that the diverse population of homeless and foster youth have. The final brief provides recommendations for the policies in addition to facilitating avenues for future research. 

Researcher

James Dean Ward

PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2018

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pullias Center for Higher Education, 2018-19

Senior Researcher at Ithaka S+R

Final Report

The final report for this project was published as an Issue Brief on the Ithaka S+R website.

Funding

This project was selected as one of five recipients of the Pullias Center Equity Alumni Award in October 2020 to mark the 25th anniversary of the Pullias Center. Each of the five projects features an alumna or alumnus of the Pullias Center exploring a different facet of systemic racism that directly impacts Black, indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) access to education, specifically postsecondary education.