Each year, approximately 20,000 young adults in foster care transition to independent living. A majority of these young people want to pursue postsecondary education, but they are less likely to enroll in postsecondary institutions than their peers who have not interacted with the child welfare system. To address this gap, federal and state programs have been implemented to address barriers and provide supports to pursue a college degree. In 2001, as an amendment to the Chafee Foster Care Independence Act, the Education and Training Voucher (ETV) program became the first federal program aimed to assist young adults in or formerly in foster care with their postsecondary educational needs. 

Purpose

These fact sheets seek to describe the annual number and amount of ETV awards, characteristics of ETV recipients and their chosen schools, and preliminary statistics on postsecondary education participation for 10 states’ ETV programs. This analysis is descriptive, and statistics presented here should not be interpreted as program impacts. It is part of a broader evaluation of the ETV programs in California, Colorado, Illinois, Florida, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.

Key Findings and Highlights

• In all ten states, many young adults eligible for ETVs do not receive them. Thirty-one percent of all ETV-eligible young people attended college, and of those who attended college, only 37 percent attended with an ETV voucher.
• ETV-eligible young females, young people who were identified as Black, and young adults who emancipated were more likely to enroll in college with an ETV than other ETV eligible young adults.
• Compared with ETV-eligible young people who attended college but did not receive ETVs, young people who received vouchers were more likely to enroll in four-year schools, enroll in in-state schools, and be enrolled in college full time.
• Receiving an ETV was correlated with better educational outcomes for young adults. Young adults receiving an ETV were more likely to complete two semesters of college (one year) and graduate by age 24 compared with ETV-eligible young adults who did not receive an ETV.

These fact sheets present descriptive statistics on the ETV program and young people who participate. The results in this study cannot be interpreted as estimates of the impact of ETVs on persistence because we cannot control for selection into the ETV program. It is possible that young adults who are more diligent are more likely to enroll in the ETV program and are also more likely to persist and graduate from college.

Methods

Our analysis linked multiple administrative data sources to evaluate ETV program participation and educational outcomes. We matched child welfare administrative data on the foster care histories of all young adults who could be eligible for ETV from 10 states with ETV program data and National Student Clearinghouse data on college enrollment and attainment. Using these data, we describe the annual number and amount of ETV awards in each state, characteristics of that state’s ETV recipients and their chosen schools, and preliminary statistics on young people’s postsecondary education participation.

Recommendations

This work helps shed light on the Education and Training Voucher program and raises considerations for researchers and policymakers as well as states. Preliminary evidence suggests ETVs may increase persistence, but more research is needed to understand ETVs’ impact on outcomes such as college enrollment, persistence, and attainment. A rigorous evaluation of the ETV program is needed to estimate the impact of ETVs on college enrollment, persistence, and attainment.