May is National Foster Awareness Month--a time to raise awareness and acknowledge everyone who helps children and youth in foster care find permanent homes and connections. There are approximately 400,000 children and youth in foster care because their own families are unable to provide for their essential well-being. In addition, an estimated 24,000 young people age out of the foster care system each year with limited supports.
This guide collects information resources about foster care and in particular foster care alumni in the context of higher education. Browse the tabs above to discover academic and government studies, statistical data and advocacy organizations, and non-academic materials such as movies and documentaries, memoirs, and fiction.
Resources local to Western Oregon University are at the Fostering Success page. Fostering Success aims to connect foster alumni with the many individuals and resources at WOU and in the community that will help these students get the most out of the college experience academically and personally.