Opportunities and Challenges for Minnesota’s Foster Youth
On October 30, 2024, Augsburg University successfully hosted the Summit for Supporting Students with Foster Care Backgrounds.
This summit grows out of a Community of Practice that Augsburg University has been cultivating over the past year. Augsburg is home to the Augsburg Family Scholars program which launched in 2022 that “aims to reduce students’ financial vulnerabilities, nurture their academic progress and build community throughout their college journey”. The Fostering Independence Higher Education grants (FIG) originated from a $3.8 million legislative investment during the 2021 session. The FIG was developed to address higher education disparities that result in less than 5%, 4-year college and 2-6% two-year college graduation rates.
This event was designed to Inspire, Engage, create a space for Collaboration and Networking for Colleges and Universities who serve and support foster youth benefitting from the FIG throughout Minnesota. Data shared tracks foster youth participation and cost associated with this grant that this past fall entered its third year.
| Fall 2022 | Difference | Fall 2023 | Difference | Fall 2024 | |
| MinnState 2-year | 251 | 131% | 330 | 96% | 316 |
| MinnState 4-year | 70 | 131% | 92 | 104% | 96 |
| U of MN | 20 | 205% | 41 | 98% | 40 |
| Private 4-year | 44 | 168% | 74 | 108% | 80 |
| Private 2-year | 11 | 127% | 14 | 86% | 12 |
| Totals: | 396 | 551 | 544 |
| Fall 2022 | Difference | Fall 2023 | Difference | Fall 2024 | |
| MinnState 2-year | $1,305,063 | 154% | $2,006,339 | 95% | $1,910,561 |
| MinnState 4-year | $357,270 | 234% | $835,015 | 69% | $579,022 |
| U of MN | $73,893 | 294% | $217,181 | 104% | $224,878 |
| Private 4-year | $324,121 | 215% | $697,697 | 105% | $733,438 |
| Private 2-year | $40,764 | 110% | $44,701 | 45% | $20,298 |
| Totals: | $2,101,057 | $3,800,933 | $3,468,158 |
We know the model developed at Augsburg University co-designed by students with lived foster experience has seen its first FIG college graduates during the ’23-’24 academic year. That with mentoring, community building and focused institutional support more foster youth will graduate this academic year, at Augsburg and around the state. This is an incredible opportunity for Minnesota’s Foster youth.
We also know that opportunity does co-exist with challenge. In this case, the challenge is the 4- and 7-year high school graduation rates of foster youth in Minnesota.
| Population | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Students in foster care at any point in high school | 41.2% | 37.2% | 41.9% | 43.2% |
| Students ever in foster care | 47.0% | 45.3% | 49.3% | 51.0% |
| Population | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Students in foster care at any point in high school | 55.4% | 53.9% | 55.1% | 57.5% |
| Students ever in foster care | 59.0% | 58.7% | 59.9% | 61.5% |
This information is available on the MDE – Minnesota Report Card: the Graduation and Test Achievement Levels, Test Results and Participation reports.
It has been said that the first step in solving a problem is admitting there is a problem to be solved. We are in a unique place where an incredible opportunity exists and a significant challenge as well. It is time to perhaps think differently about how we support foster youth in their K-12 education journey so that they can benefit from the available promise of a supportive higher education experience.
