Campus support of foster care youth

1. Jacob Okumu, PhD
Program Director
OHIO Reach Scholars Program
Ohio University, Athens

2. OHIO Reach Scholars Program
 The OHIO Reach Scholars Program is a resource at
OHIO dedicated to advocating for and supporting
college age former foster youth as well as those
disconnected from their biological families
 This program is overseen by the Office for
Multicultural Student Access & Retention (OMSAR)
and includes a number of specialized support systems
designed to meet the unique needs of former foster
care students at Ohio University
2015

3. Program Components
 LINKS, OHIO pre-matriculation program
 Year long cohort psychosocial, academic, service-learning
and leadership development seminars
 Progress advisors/mentors meet students bi-weekly to
help students design and implement tailored
individualized 4 year plan for personal growth, academic
success, leadership and professional development.
 Weekly study sessions and socials
 Financial aid and health care literacy to provide students
with access to scholarships and health care services
2015

4. Program Components
 Local & international service-learning – study abroad
 Alternative social-programming for family-themed
weekends
 Engagement in research and professional development
opportunities

5. Thanksgiving 2015

6. Parents Weekend

7. SUCCESSES
 OU Undergraduate application form
 Alternative family-themed social programming
 Thanksgiving with SE Ohio high school foster youth
 Community partnerships (Action Ohio, etc)
 Sense of connectedness to a family
 OU development office beginning a fundraising effort
for an endowment fund
 Alternative housing during breaks & alternative
academic assignments
 Study abroad – Service Learning in Jamaica/Ethiopia
 Leadership development (shadowing, Capitol Hill)

8. Service learning in Jamaica
• December Break
• Spring Break

9. CHALLENGES
 Medical & financial literacy
 OU Scholarships (300/150/10) – endowment fund
 Psychosocial – what to do when biological parents
initiate contacts through program director
 Sometimes I do not know what I am doing
(negotiating a lease, taking a scholar shopping or
discussing a need to have an hair cut in a different less
expensive location!)
 Some scholars may not come back next semester due
to tuition balances. What to do?

10. Proposed Way forward at OU
1. Provide a one-stop comprehensive medical
assessment of all OU scholars from foster care
during orientation
2. Endowment fund for tuition scholarship
3. Design and implement an integrated support and
service systems across campus for youth aging out of
care and enrolling in our college campus from pre-
matriculation through graduation
4. Generate awareness among faculty and staff
regarding the needs of former foster care students

11. Proposed Way forward at OU
5. Organize comprehensive cross-systems training for
independent living coordinators, school counselors,
health care professionals, faculty, staff, etc to ensure
information sharing, collaboration and communication
6. Infuse data collection, tracking and evaluation of
needs and services of youth from care in college campus
environments
7. Reach out to the branch campuses

12. THANK YOU
Jacob O. Okumu, PhD
Coordinator for Student Outreach & Developmental
Services
Office for Multicultural Student Access & Retention
Ohio University, Athens
Email: okumu@ohio.edu
Tel: 740 593 9376