Post-Secondary Support
NYFC is proud to have created a scholarship program that covers both the financial and emotional costs of college for young people who've experienced foster care. In 2023 New York City expanded this successful model city-wide, using public resources to reach even more youth.
As part of this growth, NYFC is increasing our services to support hundreds of young people impacted by the foster care system. We're committed to ensuring that every youth pursuing higher education - whether college or career training - has the peer support and tools they need to succeed.
Career Choice
NYFC is excited to launch a bold new program in collaboration with ACS to support young people touched by the child welfare system with new career paths that offer economic stability and mobility. Career Choice covers technical program fees, provide living stipends, offer trauma-informed career counseling, and foster accountability and connection through a peer support model. With impact data and through partnership, we will advocate for public resources to scale and sustain the program.
Cohort Connection
Cohort Connection enables more youth with experience in the foster care system to access the services they need to ensure that they can flourish in college and beyond. This program is designed to address the problem of low graduation and persistence rates among youth aging out foster care who are attending college.
The program brings together groups of students for monthly meetings supervised by an NYFC staff member to discuss successes and challenges in their educational path. The cohorts are youth-led, with meetings including a mixture of tutoring , academic advisement, financial literacy, goal setting, and workforce development, with the specific mix determined by the group. Cohorts also have access to presentations from corporate partners in healthcare, banking, music, and other industries, as determined by the young people.
The Back to School Package Program
Our Back-to-School program provides a laptop to any youth who has experienced foster care and seeks post-secondary education. In addition to this technology, proven to be necessary for success in college or a vocational education, all these youth are encouraged to engage with NYFC's other programming opportunities.
- A brand-new laptop computer
- Two gift cards per year for educational expenses such as textbooks
- Youth development events
- A heartfelt letter from NYFC staff wishing them good luck with their studies
