An Exploration of Emerging Transition-Age-Youth At

AN EXPLORATION OF EMERGING TRANSITION-AGE-YOUTH

AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, STANISLAUS

NAVIGATING FORMAL AND INFORMAL SUPPORT

NETWORKS AND MENTOR CONNECTIONS

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty A [Thesis] Presentedof to the Faculty California State University,of Stanislaus California State University, Stanislaus

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of [Your Degree] In PartialBy Fulfillment of the[Name Requirementsof Student forAuthor] the Degree of Master[Month] of Social[Year] Work

CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL

By Tyrone Thompson November 2019 ENTER YOUR THESIS TITLE HERE IN ALL CAPS, DOUBLE

SPACED, AND INVERTED PYRAMID IF

LONGER THAN ONE LINE

by [Name of Student Author] CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL

AN EXPLORATION OF EMERGING TRANSITION-AGE-YOUTH

AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, STANISLAUS

NAVIGATING FORMAL AND INFORMAL SUPPORT

NETWORKS AND MENTOR CONNECTIONS

by Tyrone Thompson

Signed Certification of Approval Page is on File with the University Library

Dr. Robin Ringstad Date Professor of Social Work

DEDICATION

I dedicate my thesis to my grandparents, my parents, my Uncle Charlie and

Aunt Sherry. It truly took a village of love and support to create the man that I am today and help make this accomplishment possible. You’ve all believed in me, invested time in me, and made me feel my life is worthy of love. This journey would not have been possible without your unconditional love and support encouraging me to find my purpose in life and to pursue this dream.

I also dedicate this thesis to my loving sister, Toya Thompson, who always had my back and my best friend, Laura Ruelas, who taught me the meaning and importance of unconditional love. I will carry memories of both of you always wanting the best for me and always encouraging me to succeed; your love gave me the will and drive to not only to pursue this Master’s degree in Social Work, but to also persevere.

None of my accomplishments in life would have been possible without God’s grace and mercy. I dedicate both my thesis and my imperfect beautiful journey through life, to my God, my lord and savior Jesus, the Most High Almighty God, who made the ultimate sacrifice for all, so that we all may become his brothers and sisters with power to do great things in this world.

Last but not least, I also dedicate this thesis to my wife and our three children; your love and support motivated me to wake up each morning and inspired me to keep grinding each day to make you all proud. I am so grateful to each of you for

allowing me to love you unconditionally and experiencing your love each day while taking part in this extraordinary experience. I look forward to our next stage in life with so much joy and optimism knowing that this journey is now complete. I love you all with all of my heart.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

During my enrollment in this program I’ve felt myself growing and evolving on a daily - sometimes hourly - basis. This has truly been a remarkably enlightening experience that I am grateful and honored to have had an opportunity to share with my cohort, faculty, and individuals at my practicum sites; you've all helped me thrive both inside and outside of the classroom. Along this journey I’ve faced multiple forks in the road which helped me realize God is truly the author of my life; I truly believe God’s not done with me yet as he is still writing my story. I feel God’s fingerprints all over my beautiful imperfect life molding me daily. Dr. Robin

Ringstad, you stepped up during one of the forks in this journey; your unconditional acceptance and encouragement added fuel my desire to not give up. Dr. John Garcia, your unconditional acceptance, encouragement, and enthusiasm helped make writing this thesis fun. I thank you both for supporting my efforts throughout this journey.

You both stepped up to help make this possible. Dr. Kilolo Brodie, from day one you have always been an invaluable source of support, encouragement, and inspiration.

You have consistently been a great mentor to me that I respect and love. Dr. Brodie you helped make the most difficult times for me during this journey bearable. I also want to thank the Promise Scholar’s faculty and the students who participated in this study. Thank you Dr. Randle for always having an open-door policy and for being so approachable. I hope our collaboration will inspire many students to build lasting supportive connections; knowledge is power. Dr. Alfred Pérez, I realized our true

intentions are not always identifiable; thank you for inspiring me with your life story and accomplishments. A special thanks to all of the faculty members, field supervisors, employees, and clients for making this such a memorable, fulfilling experience for me.

In Loving Memory of

Eric Prescott

1970-2019

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TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE

Dedication ...... iv

Acknowledgements ...... vi

Abstract ...... x

CHAPTER I. Introduction ...... 1

Statement of the Problem ...... 1 Statement of the Purpose ...... 8 Significance of the Study ...... 9

II. Literature Review...... 10

Theoretical Framework ...... 12 Learned Helplessness ...... 13 Formal Institutionalized Support Networks ...... 14 Informal Support Networks ...... 16

III. Methodology ...... 19

Overview ...... 19 Research Design...... 19 Sampling Plan ...... 21 Instrumentation & Data Collection ...... 22 Plan for Data Analysis ...... 25 Protection of Human Subjects ...... 26

IV. Findings...... 27

Overview of the Sample...... 27 Data Analysis Process ...... 29 Findings Related to the Research Questions ...... 30 Research Question #1 – Utilization of Formal Services . 31 Research Question #2 – Description of Mentoring...... Relationships ...... 33 Additional Graduated Participants ...... 35 Summary ...... 37

viii

V. Discussion ...... 39

Overview of Major Findings ...... 39 Existing Knowledge ...... 41 Limitations ...... 44 Implications for Social Work Practice & Policy...... 46 Implications for Future Research ...... 48

References ...... 51

ABSTRACT

This study examines how Transitional-Aged youth (TAY) at California State

University, Stanislaus describe their lived experiences with formal support networks and informal mentoring connections. Two specific research questions guided this study: 1) How do TAY students at California State University, Stanislaus utilize the institutionalized formal support services of the Promise Scholars Program to meet their needs? 2) How do TAY students at California State University, Stanislaus describe any informal natural connections or mentoring relationships they have related to their college success? Using Braun and Clark’s Thematic Analysis model the researcher asked students who were enrolled at California State University,

Stanislaus during the 2018/2019 academic school year to complete a questionnaire as a means to gather information on their personal lived experiences in relation to formal support programs and mentors. In this exploratory study the researcher identified, analyzed, and coded themes that emerged from the participants’ responses, as well as analyzed frequencies of responses quantitatively. The findings revealed that more than ninety percent of the 12 participants prior to enrollment in college were unaware of the types of formal supportive services that were available to help support their successful outcomes on campus during enrollment. This study also found that more than ninety percent of the participants believed they benefit from having access to a supportive mentor or believed they could benefit if they had connected with a supportive mentor during their enrollment in college.

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Statement of the Problem

Young adults in general often experience hardships when transitioning from adolescence into adulthood. The age at which most youth in America tend to move out of their home towards a life of independence is usually between the ages of 18-29 and is characterized by the developmental stage of emerging adulthood (Arnett,

2000). Research suggests a supportive relationship between young people and at least one caring adult is likely to abate risk factors vulnerable youth may face during this prolonged developmental transitional period (Freundlich, Avery, Gerstenzang, &

Munson, 2006; Greeson, 2013; Zimmerman et al., 2013). Research also supports that attainment of supportive, permanent adult relationships will prove to be advantageous in the physical and emotional development of adolescents as they emerge into adulthood (Aquilino, 2006; Bowers et al., 2014; Haddad, Chen, & Greenberger,

2011).

In a longitudinal study, emerging adults with supportive parents were compared to Transitional-Aged Youth (TAY) emerging from the foster care system, and the results revealed lower income earnings and higher joblessness rates among the emerging TAY population (George, Van Voorhis, Grant, Casey, & Robinson,

1992; Macomber et al., 2008). Transitional-Aged Youth (TAY) is a way of referencing a category of individuals who were declared a ward or dependent of the

Court as a juvenile and received foster care services between 16 to 25 years of age.

Similar to traditional emerging adults, this distinct population is also called upon to make complex decisions about their lives; however, they usually make many of these decisions without assistance from biological supportive parents. Also, this TAY population may not be empowered to make decisions about their lives prior to their eightieth birthday due to the limitations that are imposed on foster youth for their wellbeing and safety while in foster care. This means they get little practice related to decision-making while they are still in foster care. These limitations, coupled with the trauma that led to them entering foster care, may contribute to the TAY population being unprepared to make decisions regarding their personal relationships, employment, health care, housing, education, and finances once they exit foster care.

During the emerging adulthood years the process of becoming independent has become longer, with many more young adults delaying marriage, extending their period of higher education, and relying on their parents for both financial and emotional support compared to young adults during the 1940s and 1950s (Arnett,

2000; Osgood, Foster, Flanagan, & Ruth, 2005). For example, it has increasingly become common for parents to provide financial assistance, housing, and extensive guidance to their children well into their twenties (Osgood et al., 2005). To illustrate, the percentage of young people between the ages of 18–24 who lived at home with their parents has increased from approximately 40% in 1960 to just over 50% in 2007

(Furstenberg, 2010).

The number of emerging TAY emancipating from foster care increased 46%

3 between 2000 and 2009 from 20,172 to 29,471 (United States [U.S.] Department of

Health & Human Services, 2010); although this number has decreased over recent years. In 2015 the number of TAY who emancipated from foster care was 20,789; which is close to the numbers in 2000 (U.S. Department of Health & Human

Services, 2016). Research has shown that nearly one-tenth of emerging TAY experience dismal outcomes (Courtney & Dworsky, 2006; Courtney & Heuring,

2005) in the areas of finance and unemployment (Courtney & Hook, 2011: Dworsky,

2005), homelessness (Dworsky, Napolitano, & Courtney, 2013), unplanned pregnancy (Dworsky & Courtney, 2010; Matta-Oshima, Narendorf, & McMillen,

2013), access to mental health services (McMillen & Raghavan, 2009), criminal justice system involvement (Vaughn, Shook, & McMillen, 2008), and poor educational achievement (Blome, 1997; Pecora et al., 2006).

Emerging TAY adults have multiple barriers as they enter the adult phase in life, which puts them at a cumulative disadvantage compared to their peers in the general population. Education may level the playing field by providing a pathway out of poverty and can mitigate many of the barriers that the emerging TAY population faces. Many emerging adults, in general, require support in the areas of housing, finances, and education from their supportive parents. Those young adults with family connections also tend to have a higher college graduation rate than emerging

TAY students who do not have family support and who may not know how to access the institutionalized support systems on campus. Emerging TAY who do manage to attend college may not have developed any informal support network, which is a

4 cornerstone of the assistance that emerging adults utilize during their transition to adulthood.

Because unstable housing is an issue for young people who have aged out of foster care (Transitional-Aged Youth), many of these young adults often reconnect with members of their biological family once they turn eighteen years old and emancipate from foster care (Collins, Spencer, & Ward, 2010; Jones & Kruk 2005;

Samuels & Pryce, 2008). Many emerging TAY believe reconnecting with their families of origin reduces their likelihood of becoming homeless and doing so sometimes allow this population to form supportive relationships with at least one family member (Dworsky & Courtney, 2010). However, often times the tenuous nature of these relationships unfortunately means that the youth are unable to rely on their family members for support (Becerra & Iglehart, 2002; Geenen & Powers,

2007). The existing information on emerging TAY is primarily focused on describing and documenting the many challenges associated with TAY emancipation (Collins &

Ward, 2011) and some scholars believe that unstable housing after out of home placement is one of the greatest contributors to the less desirable outcomes of emerging TAY (Barth 1990; Havlicek, 2011; McCoy, McMillen, & Spitznagel,

2008).

Research has suggested that the receipt of social support can positively benefit stability and well-being for several vulnerable populations, such as returning prisoners (La Vigne, Visher, & Castro, 2004; Wilkinson, 2005), divorced women with children (Duffy, 1989), and long-term welfare recipients (Samsone, 1998). How

5 many individuals from the TAY population feel a connectedness with supportive adults during the emerging adult years is unknown to the researcher; however, developing such support would likely benefit this population just as it does for other vulnerable populations. Education is also related to stability and well-being for many individuals. Unfortunately, a college education is often unachievable for emerging

TAY students. In a review of several studies, Wolanin (2005) found that approximately 20% of emerging TAY graduate from high school by age 18 and enroll in college, whereas 60% of emerging adults in the general population graduate from high school and enroll in college.

When emerging TAY do matriculate into college, many of their problems may be exacerbated. For example, many emerging TAY college students experience instability in housing when the on-campus dorms close (Dworsky, 2005; Festinger,

1983; Mech & Fung, 1999) during holidays and college term breaks. These same youth often lack the necessary life skills to live independently (Havlicek, 2011;

Mares, 2010) and are disadvantaged academically because of the unstable nature of foster care and the poor educational preparation they received while in foster care.

Both federal (Foster Care Independence Act, 1999) and state (California Assembly

Bill AB12, 2010) legislation has been implemented to address the needs of TAY students. Such legislative efforts seek to provide formalized supports and services to abate the challenges these students experience and, in part, provide for funding to support transitional support programs on college campuses.

One such program is the Promise Scholars Program. The Promise Scholars

Program is available on various campuses and works in tandem with Educational

Opportunity Programs to provide a holistic approach to meeting the needs emerging

TAY students. A goal of the Promise Scholars Program is to provide emerging TAY opportunities to engage with knowledgeable and trained counselors as well as access to a network of campus support programs to assist with their transition to campus life.

Promise Scholars students receive special academic advising and life skills support related to securing employment, budgeting, and housing assistance.

While Promise Scholars Programs address formal support mechanisms, intangible outcomes such as establishing and maintaining supportive relationships with an informal mentor may not be supported by college campuses. These are also not often supported by the constellation of child welfare policies aimed at providing supports to TAY college students (Samuels & Pryce, 2008). In the field of social psychology, the study of social support originated in the 1970s (Cohen & Syme,

1985), but there is a need to expand research in the area of social support for emerging TAY who are enrolled in college (Collins et al., 2010). Additionally, even when institutionalized formal helping systems and informal helping networks are made available to emerging TAY students, some TAY may receive messages from both the child welfare system and from relatives that self-sufficiency is more important than relying on others (Propp, Ortega, & Newheart, 2003). Such messages may decrease the likelihood that TAY in college actually reach out to campus resources which could help them be academically successful.

Personal autonomy and rugged individualism appear to be motivational

7 factors from a cultural values perspective that are ingrained in pushing emerging

TAY to be independent (Reindal, 1999). Being able to live on their own without support may be empowering and symbolize success for the emerging TAY population; however, the need to broaden the definition of perceived success may prove to also be beneficial for this population (Collins & Curtis, 2011). Encouraging emerging TAY students to seek interdependence rather than independence and to form and maintain a relationship with a formal support system or an informal support network may prove beneficial for maintaining stability in the years following emancipation from foster care (Propp et al., 2003; Samuels & Pryce, 2008; Stivers,

1991). As an example, studies have shown that social workers who formed a close connection with youth during the years they were in foster care sometimes maintained a supportive role in youths’ lives after emancipation (Collins et al., 2010; Lemon,

Hines, & Merdinger, 2005), which contributed to the youth having an ongoing support system after foster care. The development and maintenance of informal support networks among emerging TAY warrants greater consideration.

Research has found that mentors from both formal support systems and in informal support networks may minimize some of the barriers that emerging TAY students face (Collins et al., 2010). Little is known, however, about the natural informal support networks emerging TAY students develop in order to accomplish success in areas of risk such as education, longevity in employment, stable housing, sobriety, unplanned pregnancy, criminality, and mental health stability. Thus, this study aimed to build on and refine the existing knowledge base of research to

8 understand the nature of formal support systems and informal support networks among college students with foster care histories - the emerging TAY population.

Statement of the Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore to what extent emerging TAY who were enrolled at California State University, Stanislaus used formal and informal helping networks to facilitate their success at a California State University. This study recruited current participants of the Promise Scholars Program at California State

University, Stanislaus. The researcher planned a phenomenological exploratory study using a non-probability sampling procedure to understand the nature of both formal institutionalized helping systems and informal helping relationships in relation to

TAY emerging adults while on campus. This study explored how TAY emerging into adulthood who are enrolled in college navigate both formal and informal mentoring relationships to cope or too mitigate some of the barriers and challenges they face in successfully graduating from college. The assumption underpinning this study was that both formal institutionalized systems and informal supportive networks contributed to the successful outcomes of TAY emerging adults at California State

University, Stanislaus. The study was guided by two specific research questions: 1)

How do TAY students at California State University, Stanislaus utilize the institutionalized formal support services of the Promise Scholars Program to meet their needs? 2) How do TAY students at California State University, Stanislaus describe any informal natural connections or mentoring relationships they have related to their college success?

Significance of the Study

When viewing justice or the lack thereof through the theoretical lens of conflict theory, social workers should seek to advocate for justice for the powerless against unjust powers; seek justice for one’s self in matters where they believe they have been treated unfairly; and do the right thing for others regardless of the race, creed, or sexual orientation. Justice for Transitional-Aged Youth exiting foster care requires us to consider strategies to improve their long-term outcomes. Doing so involves facilitating education, which, in turn, requires us to understand and offer ways to do so. The significance of this study was to fill the void in the literature regarding the formal supports and informal support networks (including supportive mentors) of TAY emerging adults who are enrolled at California State University,

Stanislaus and the positive outcomes that such support can have on the successful accomplishments of these youth. More research in this area may lead to more awareness and grants to support additional mentoring programs for emerging adults with foster care backgrounds.

CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

We live in a society where there are safeguards in place designed to help vulnerable populations. Social Security, Medicare, and Child Protective Service

(CPS) all exist as safeguards in one form or another in every county in the United

States of America. CPS is part of a safety net that was created to protect abused and neglected children at any point from birth until adulthood. In many cases when such care lasts until a child ages out of the child welfare system it is CPS acting as a parent who decides when youth are ready to be on their own (Barth 1990; Courtney, 2005).

More research is needed regarding the diverse population of individuals (also referred to as Transitional-Aged Youth [TAY]), who were once in the children's system of care and who are at high risk for poor outcomes after they transition into adulthood. Researchers in this area focus their studies on youth who are in foster care after age 14 and during their young adult years up to around 26 years of age. The intent is to protect TAY from further victimization after they reach the age of majority, as in many cases these individuals clearly have additional needs beyond physical safety. The inability to achieve permanency exposes them to numerous risks including placement instability, unstable relationships, mental and behavior health concerns, physical health problems, attachment and trust issues, social stigma and isolation, compound abuse, and educational instability (Kerker & Dore, 2006;

Kortenkamp & Ehrle, 2002).

Children who are neglected and abused, and who also end up in foster care, are more likely as adults to require mental health services, develop a substance abuse problem, enter the criminal justice system, and become homeless than adults without a foster care history, and are less likely to graduate from high school (Courtney et al.,

2011; Daining & DePanfilis, 2007; Reilly, 2003). Few of these individuals go on to attend college, and many of those who do enroll in college must overcome a multitude of barriers in order to succeed. TAY, according to research, are youth with foster care histories between 14 and 25 years of age and who are at risk as they transition from foster care to adulthood. During this developmental period of increased independence and decreased network support (Sulimani-Aidan, 2015) TAY who enroll in college must believe they are capable of succeeding and be willing to accept help as this is a stage characterized by the need to access help from supportive adults for guidance and support.

Extensive longitudinal research by Courtney et al. (2011) acknowledges that this distinct population is called upon to make complex decisions about their personal relationships, employment, health care, housing, education, and finances all of a sudden once they age out of foster care system, and often times they are not prepared to do so. When foster youth age out of foster care and transition into adulthood they may also experience or be reminded of the trauma similar to when they entered foster care, changed placements during care, or when they exited care, which can result in psychological distress (Perry, 2006). When looking at youth who are still in foster care researchers have found a reduction in anxiety and depression in the youth who

12 were able to establish a strong support network (Mitchell & Kuczynski, 2010). This study sought to explore who TAY consider to be in their supportive networks during their enrollment in college. This literature review examines what is known about this topic to date, and includes discussions of a theoretical framework for understanding this developmental stage, learned helplessness, formalized institutional support networks, and informal support systems.

Theoretical Framework

In America the age of majority is eighteen. This is when a youth makes the legal transition to adulthood and is generally allowed to make decisions that govern his or her own life. Developmental theorist, Arnett, looked at the lived experiences of youth between the ages of 18 and 26 and offered an Emerging Adult Developmental stage theory to better understand this time in a young adult’s life (Arnett, 2000). For youth in foster care, this time is often referred to as the time of ‘aging out’ (Foster

Care Independence Act, 1999; Fostering Connection to Success and Increasing

Adoptions Act, 2008).

Arnett (2000) defines emerging adulthood as a distinct developmental stage that takes place between the ages of 18 and 25 years old. During this stage accepting responsibility for one’s self, making independent decisions, and becoming financially independent are major developmental milestones (Arnett, 2000). Due to the vulnerability during this developmental stage, combined with the inherent risk factors in foster care, many TAY experience multiple poor outcomes.

Emerging adults without foster care histories typically have more freedom to

13 practice their independence in less restrictive environments prior to the age of eighteen than youth with foster care backgrounds (TAY). For example, youth who are younger than eighteen years of age must obtain state approval in order to spend the night at a friend’s house. Negotiating transportation to get home from school with friends or attend a sporting events unsupervised by an approved adult caregiver may also be a cumbersome task for many TAY as background checks must be completed prior to granting permission for TAY to be alone with an adult caretaker

(Scannapieco, Connel-Carrick, & Painter, 2007). The result is that, in general, TAY students are extremely sheltered from being able to take part in their life decisions prior to their 18th birthday due to policies designed to protect them from harm, and thus, they often do not develop skills related to relationships, support systems, and collaboration.

This developmental period also marks a significant time in youth’s lives that influences how they learn to develop relationships, roles, and life changes (Mitchell

& Kuczynski, 2010). Provisions for the socio-emotional needs of youth with foster care histories is also important and there is a growing body of research that supports this notion (Collins, et al., 2010; Geenen & Powers, 2007; Goodkind, Schelbe, &

Shook, 2011; Propp, et al., 2003). Little is known, however, about how TAY students who attend college utilize their relational networks.

Learned Helplessness

According to Maier and Seligman (1976) learned helplessness occurs as a result of uncontrollable events that occur in the life of TAY. For example, these

14 youth, by definition, have been removed from their parents resulting in their entry into the foster care system, and regardless of the TAY’s response to the phenomenon or efforts to use their voice, they often have little ability to effect the outcomes of the situation. This loss of self-efficacy affects the TAY’s ability to trust others long into adulthood (Unrau, Font, & Rawls, 2011).

According to Maier and Seligman (1976) learned helplessness occurs when an individual encounters an event that is out of their control and they learn that their response will not affect the outcome. The perceived powerlessness as a result of being in an uncontrollable environment and attempting to use their voice to affect change, only to have their efforts dismissed, dissuades the individual’s motivation to use his or her voice in an effort to affect future events. This theory helps to shed light on how learned helplessness impacts TAY’s ability to accomplish goals (Daniels et al.,

2009). According to research, housing stability, employment or a steady source of income, education, connections to others in meaningful relationships, physical health, and mental health are all areas used to define adulthood (Arnett, 2000). The research also suggests that adult achievement and self-sufficiency among TAY are seriously impacted in a negative way by their life experiences. This phenomenon helps to explain the need for further research as it relates to TAY and positive outcomes in higher education as they attempt to impact future success.

Formal Institutionalized Support Networks

Although 70% of TAY aspire to attend college according to a study by

Newberger (2010), TAY participants also stated they believed they were not expected

15 to attend college after they aged out of foster care. There is currently a shift in foster care policies and programs towards the direction of making college and vocation training for TAY a priority (Newberger, 2010) rather than allowing TAY to exit foster care without accessing supportive services. Research on the experience of TAY students in higher education stresses the importance of (a) promoting positive identities of TAY survivors, (b) respecting TAY autonomy, and (c) encouraging and acknowledging the resilience and perseverance of the TAY community (Watt,

Norton, & Jones, 2013).

The first piece of federal legislation to specifically address the needs of these

TAY was the Independent Living Initiative of 1985 which was enacted to provide funds to TAY to assist with finances, housing, education, health, and employment, in addition to creating vocational classes designed to teach independent living skills

(Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, 1985). Subsequently, the Foster

Care Independence Act of 1999 expanded funding to provide services to TAY (Foster

Care Independence Act, 1999). With the enactment of the Fostering Connections to

Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 more emphasis was placed on educational institutions and child welfare agencies to drive polices emphasizing that they work together to enhance the lives of TAY (Fostering Connection to Success and

Increasing Adoptions Act, 2008).

As a result of increased focus on the needs of TAY attending higher education, many colleges and universities created formal support networks on campuses designed to improve successful outcomes of TAY students after

16 enrollment. The Promise Scholars Program at California State University, Stanislaus is one example of such a program. The Promise Scholars Program provides a thorough and highly personalized academic and social support network to TAY students who are admitted at the University. Universities across the county also have similar programs designed to improve positive outcomes of their TAY population.

Informal Support Systems

Data support the positive impact that informal support systems have on individuals and communities, and one of the most widely studied informal support systems which can be put in place is that of mentorship programs. There are several different types of informal institutionalized mentorship programs which may help facilitate both formal and informal mentor connections. Some examples of national, regional, and local community-based mentorship programs include the Big-

Brothers/Big-Sisters, My Brothers’ Keepers Alliance, and Advocates for Justice. If an emerging adult theoretical perspective is utilized with the TAY population on college campuses, policies might focus on helping TAY build positive mentoring connections that will serve as a safety net during their enrollment (Curry & Abrams 2014;

Samuels & Pryce, 2008). Although available research suggests that mentoring programs can be an effective intervention for the general public youth and for adults in employment settings, very little research has examined the efficacy of mentoring programs for the TAY populations during their enrollment on college campuses.

Many individuals are recruited or volunteer to work for institutionalized mentoring programs and receive training to enhance their effectiveness in achieving

17 the desired outcomes that the program tries to address. The mentee is usually matched with a mentor that the agency or mentor believes would be a good match based on the mentee’s profile. According to studies of institutionalized mentoring programs like

Big Brothers/Big Sisters, youth with foster care histories who connected with formal mentors showed improvements in their pro-social peer interactions over time, while youth with similar histories who were observed in a non-mentored control group showed their peer support diminished over time (Rhodes, Haight, & Briggs, 1999).

Given the positive results related to mentor programs for foster youth, it seems likely that such mentor/mentee relationships might also help address the lack of support so commonly found among TAY enrolled in college.

In addition to formal mentorship programs, informal or ‘natural’ mentors may also play a positive role. A natural mentor is an adult in a young person’s life with whom he or she identifies, rather than someone formally assigned as a mentor by a program or agency. Young people, in many cases, identify teachers, coaches, adult relatives, or religious leaders as natural mentors (Greeson, Taussig, Thompson, &

Wieler, 2016). Sadly, these are the types of relationships that many TAY youth do not have during their adolescence. There is a growing body of literature that suggests that natural mentoring connections may function as a protective factor for TAY

(Zimmerman et al., 2013), and these types of relationships may contribute to their success in pursuing higher education.

Little is known about TAY and the efficacy of natural mentors in their life, and this was one of the areas explored in this study. The availability of both formal

18 and informal mentoring relationships, and the ways in which TAY participants see them as contributing to their higher education success, are important protective factors to explore in order to effect services for TAY college students. This study explored the views about and utilization of such support networks among TAY students at California State University, Stanislaus.

CHAPTER III

METHODOLODY

Overview

The purpose of this study was to explore to what extent emerging

Transitional-Aged Youth (TAY) who were enrolled at California State University,

Stanislaus used formal institutionalized systems and informal helping networks to facilitate their success at a California State University. The study explored how emerging TAY develop meaningful helping networks to cope or to mitigate some of the barriers and challenges they face to successfully graduating from college. The researcher sought to understand: 1) How do TAY students at California State

University utilize the institutionalized formal helping services of the Promise

Scholars Program to meet their needs? 2) How do TAY students at California State

University, Stanislaus describe any informal natural connections or mentoring relationships they have related to their college success?

Research Design

The researcher conducted an exploratory study which looked at TAY students who were enrolled at California State University, Stanislaus during the 2018/2019 academic school year. In this study the researcher had hoped to conduct a phenomenological study to describe the lived experience of emerging TAY enrolled in college and the meaningful mentoring relationships they cultivated during this time in their lives. The researcher sought to identify common strategies used by TAY

19 20

students to activate meaningful supportive relationships with supportive mentors during their enrollment in college. Ultimately, a combination of qualitative and quantitative measures were used in this exploratory study due to limitations related to obtaining a sample. While this modification to the design resulted in reduced depth of understanding related to participants’ lived experiences, data obtained did provide significant insight into participants’ actions and views related to mentoring and support.

Emerging TAY students who are enrolled in college with compounding trauma from their foster care experiences are often left on their own after enrollment.

Once on campus they also face new barriers such as unstable housing during holidays and during summer break. They also may face academic challenges after enrollment.

Many colleges and universities have created programs to help the emerging TAY students on campuses. At California State University, Stanislaus this program is called the Promise Scholars Program. Despite such formal institutionalized helping systems, little is known about how natural or informal helping networks work in tandem with the institutionalized support systems to help these students as they complete their college education. Emerging TAY students often report the most important aspect of the formal programs is the interpersonal relationships that they develop with the staff (Greeson, Thompson, & Wenger, 2015). This indicates that social support and relationships are among the most critical factors in assisting these students. There is research that acknowledges that not all former foster youth on college campuses end up using these formal helping systems, but those who do often

report that it is the natural informal support relationships that they develop through their participation to be most meaningful (Greeson et al., 2015). This researcher desired to understand the nature of what the literature calls informal helping networks or mentoring relationships that emerging TAY students activate with mentors on or off campus. Therefore, it was important to understand the nature of these students’ natural informal helping networks.

Sampling Plan

This study recruited enrolled students who were participating in the California

State University, Stanislaus Promise Scholars Program. A purposive sampling strategy was selected to specifically recruit current California State University,

Stanislaus students who were previously in the foster care system as minors (TAY) and who were affiliated with the Promise Scholars Program. Snowball sampling was also planned to allow participants to identify additional participants who they knew who also had a foster care background and who might also be interested in the study, although ultimately all participants were Promise Scholars Program participants. This researcher planned for a minimum of five individual participants. It is important to note that the original sampling plan resulted in an insufficient sample for the study, so a second sampling plan (attending a Promise Scholars orientation event) was added to the methodology. This is discussed in more depth in the Results section of this thesis.

To contact participants for the study, the researcher contacted key informants at California State University, Stanislaus Promise Scholars Program in order to gain access to potential participants. The informants agreed to help develop a list of

potential emerging TAY students on campus who might be willing to participate in this study. The participants’ identities were to remain confidential from the researcher until the participant was informed about the research study and indicated they were willing to participate in the study. Once the researcher was in contact with the participant, the researcher was to coordinate a time and place to interview the participant on campus. The key informants at the Promise Scholars Program agreed to provide access to an interview room for interviewing purposes if needed. Interviews were expected to take approximately 30 minutes, but no more than 60 minutes, to complete. At the conclusion of the interview each participants was to be eligible to receive a $25 gift card as a ‘thank you’ for their time and participation. Once the study was complete, each of the participants had an opportunity to win a bonus gift card and were informed that they would be provided a copy of the study results if they desired a copy. These methods were altered slightly for the second sampling at the orientation event, where participants were advised as a group about the study and were invited to participate. Written open-ended questionnaires were prepared to take the place of individual interviews in an effort to streamline data collection at the event.

Instrumentation & Data Collection

The data for this study were collected through interviews between the researcher and the TAY participants and through open-ended written questionnaires

(depending upon where and how the participants were met). The interviews consisted of a variety of open-ended questions intended to explore where and how participants

sought and received support, and explored whether they utilized either formal or informal services or supports. These same questions were included on a written questionnaire for those participants at the orientation event. Formal supports were assessed via asking about what Promise Scholars Program services the participants utilized. Informal supports were assessed via asking participants about their experiences with support networks on or off campus and mentoring relationships.

Areas explored included: 1) the type of involvement emerging TAY students had with formal institutionalized support system in the past; 2) the experiences emerging TAY students brought with them from their own prior experiences with mentors; and 3) whether they had opportunities to develop meaningful relationships with a supportive mentor during their time in college. Due to phenomenology being used to analyze and describe lived experiences (Yost, 2015), this was the preferred methodology for looking at the experiences of the emerging TAY population as they develop relationships with supportive mentors.

In order to answer the first research question about how TAY students utilized the institutionalized formal helping system on campus, the researcher sought to obtain responses to the following questions:

1. How familiar are you with the Promise Scholars Program and the services they

provide?

2. What, if any, services have you used through the Promise Scholars Program?

3. Where do you go on campus for financial support?

4. Which, if any, other programs similar to the Promise Scholars Program have you

participated in?

5. How has the Promise Scholars Program helped you?

6. Do you have a Faculty mentor, and, if so, do you meet with them?

7. How often do you seek help from campus programs when you need help?

In order to answer the second research questions related to how TAY students at California State University, Stanislaus described informal natural connections or mentoring relationships they had the researcher sought to obtain responses to the following questions:

1. When something tragic happens in your life, who do you go to when you need

emotional support?

2. Who do you contact when you need advice?

3. Have you ever participated in a mentoring program, and, if so, how was it useful

to you?

4. Do you have someone in your life now that you look up to or consider to be a

mentor?

5. Do you have someone in your life that you consider to be a parent figure or role

model?

It was important in this study for the researcher to explore both the tangible and intangible support TAY students received from both formal support systems and informal support networks. Tangible support included anything that was given to the

TAY students such as scholarships, financial aid, housing support, and transportation.

Intangible support included a direct line of communication between the TAY student

and mentor, encouragement, an emotional bond, a feeling of belongingness, or a sense of accountability.

Plan for Data Analysis

Data collected regarding the participants’ answers to the questions about their use of services and about their process of identifying, defining, and utilizing meaningful supportive mentoring relationships was analyzed utilizing a thematic analysis process described by Braun and Clark (2006). Thematic analysis is a method for identifying, analyzing, and reporting patterns within data (Braun & Clark, 2006), and can potentially provide a vivid account of the data. This method looks for recurring themes as a guide when analyzing data during six phases of the data analysis process. The first phase requires the researcher to familiarize themselves with the data. After becoming familiar with the data, the next phase requires the researcher to go through a process of generating initial codes. Once each data set is assigned a code, the third phase involves the researcher identifying specific themes which begin to emerge. In the fourth phase the researcher reviews the themes. During the fifth phase of the analysis, the researcher proceeds to define and name the themes.

The sixth and final stage of the analysis produces the results within the final report.

Due to limited written content in the open-ended survey questions and considerable consistency in participants’ responses, data analysis also included quantitative methods to identify commonalities in participants’ strategies.

Protection of Human Subjects

Prior to conducting this research the researcher gained approval from the

University Institutional Review Board (UIRB) at California State University,

Stanislaus in order to ensure the participants’ protection. In order to protect the identity of participants in the study, the researcher did not record or document any identifying information. The researcher made sure the participants were aware of informed consent by providing each participant with a written copy of a detailed explanation of the consent and their rights. Participants were informed that their responses were confidential, and that the results would be presented in aggregate form. Data were protected from all inappropriate disclosure under the law.

CHAPTER IV

FINDINGS

This study was developed to provide insight into California State University,

Stanislaus’ TAY college students’ views on formal mentoring programs and informal mentor connections in order to inform future research and supportive efforts for the

TAY population on campus. The following two questions were developed to guide this study: 1) How do TAY students at California State University, Stanislaus utilize the institutionalized formal helping services like the Promise Scholars Program on campus to meet their needs? 2) How do TAY students at California State University,

Stanislaus describe any informal natural mentor connections in relation to their college success? This chapter provides a summary of the responses from the TAY students at California State University, Stanislaus who participated in the study.

Responses from students who attended the 2018/2019 academic school year Promise

Scholars Student Orientation event and results from the snowball sampling participants are reported separately. Reasons for this are explained in the Overview of the Sample section of this thesis.

Overview of the Sample

This researcher collected data in August 2018 from new and returning TAY students at California State University, Stanislaus who attended the Promise Scholars

Student Orientation which was held in the Diversity Center (L 201) room on campus.

Those who attended the orientation were invited to participate in this research

28 opportunity and were informed that if a minimum of 5 individuals completed a questionnaire all TAY students in attendance would be eligible to be entered into a raffle to receive a $25.00 gift card as honorarium for their participation. Nearly all of the students in attendance completed an open-ended questionnaire and consent form related to their experience with formal mentoring programs and informal mentor connections.

The written questionnaire took less than 10 minutes for participants to complete. There were 11 students in the event who completed the questionnaire. Of these, 7 were female and 4 were male. Also, one additional participant completed the survey prior to the orientation event. Participants were at various stages in their academic careers. Participants included Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors, as well as transfer students from a junior college. The majority of those who attended were not familiar with the Promise Scholars Program on campus prior to receiving the invitation to attend the orientation event.

In addition to the data collection which occurred in the August 2018 Promise

Scholars Orientation event, earlier in the research process participants had been recruited via snowball sampling. This was completed earlier in the data collection process in an effort to recruit participants prior to the orientation event being scheduled. During this initial sampling process an insufficient number of participants were obtained (only 4 individuals participated in this initial phase) and these participants were unable to provide data about research question #1 as none had participated in the Promise Scholars Program. Therefore, the second data collection

29 method of attending the new student Promise Scholars Orientation event was arranged.

Once all data were collected, it was apparent that the participants collected as part of the snowball sampling technique (n = 4) were not relevant to research question

#1 since this research question pertained to current California State University,

Stanislaus TAY students’ experiences with the Promise Scholars Program and similar programs. While responses of the ‘snowball sample’ participants were relevant to the second research question related to the role of mentoring on their college success, a decision was made to not include them a part of the sample for this question as this would result in different sample sizes and differing sample characteristics for the 2 separate research questions. Responses from the participants collected via the initial snowball sampling method, therefore, were, instead, analyzed separately, and results from this small group are presented in a separate section in this chapter which follows a discussion of the results related to the research questions.

Data Analysis Process

This researcher utilized the Thematic Analysis process developed by Braun and Clark to analyze the data (Braun & Clark, 2006), which included identifying common themes, assigning codes, summarizing the responses, and producing a final report. The researcher identified, analyzed, and coded patterns within the data, which provided a vivid view of the TAY students’ perspectives regarding their perceptions of mentoring programs and their personal connections to mentors in their lives. This researcher looked for recurring themes as a guide when analyzing the data utilizing

30 the six-phase data analysis process. First, the researcher familiarized himself with the data. Second, the researcher went through a process of generating initial codes, then assigning a specific code to each data set. The third stage involved the researcher identifying specific themes that began to emerge and the fourth stage involved a review of the entire process for specific themes that emerged. During the fifth stage of the analysis, the researcher proceeded to define and name the themes. The sixth and final stage allowed the researcher to produce the final report.

The researcher also utilized quantitative methods to analyze data related to trends in participants’ responses. This allowed for analysis of how frequently participants reported similar experiences and utilized similar strategies.

Findings Related to the Research Questions

In designing this study, the researcher developed guiding research questions that were consistent with the emerging adult theory suggesting the usefulness of TAY population policies which focus on helping TAY develop social connections to act as safeguards while they are on their own and enrolled in college (Curry & Abrams,

2014; Samuels & Pryce, 2008). This researcher considered this theory when formulating the two research questions that guided this study. The first research question inquired about how TAY students at California State University, Stanislaus utilized the institutionalized formal helping services of the Promise Scholars Program to meet their needs. The second research question inquired about how TAY students at California State University, Stanislaus described informal natural connections or mentoring relationships they had related to their college success.

Research Question #1 - Utilization of Formal Services

As previously stated, results related to research question #1 were gathered from 11 individuals who completed the study questionnaire at a Promise Scholars

Orientation event held at California State University, Stanislaus in August 2018. One additional participant who had attended the Promise Scholars Social in April 2018 also completed the questionnaire and was included in the sample, bringing the final sample size for responding to the research questions to be 12. These participants were equally split in terms of their familiarity with the Promise Scholars Program. Half (n

= 6) of the respondents reported they were familiar with the Promise Scholars

Program and the services that they offer, and half (n = 6) were not familiar. Of those who reported not being familiar with the Promise Scholars Program, the majority (n =

4) indicated that it was their first time hearing about the program during their attendance at the Promises Scholars Program’s orientation event where this survey was conducted.

Participants (n = 6) who were aware of and who had been involved with the

Promise Scholars Program prior to the orientation event reported they had utilized a wide variety of specific services from the Promise Scholars Program, primarily in terms of academic, financial, and mentoring services. Promise Scholars Program participants had utilized services which included assistance with educational planning, advising, and scheduling classes. For those participants (n = 5) who reported utilizing mentoring services, examples included things such as receiving a

‘listening ear’ and ‘emotional comfort.’ Those who were just learning about the

32 program (n =5) did not report utilizing any of the above mentioned services, but commented instead on the new student orientation services offered by the Promise

Scholars Program.

In addition to exploring their use of Promise Scholars services, participants were also asked about other services they utilized on campus. Regarding other services, 5 out of 12 reported they did not utilize any other supportive programs on campus. When asked where they went on campus for financial support services, participants were varied in their answers. Approximately one-third of the respondents reported going to the Promise Scholars Program for financial support on campus, approximately one-third reported seeking assistance from the Financial Aid office in the form of student loans or scholarships, and approximately one-third of the respondents reported either not knowing where to go, not seeking help, visiting the food pantry, or seeking help from friends or mentors on campus. Overall, two-thirds

(n = 8) of the respondents reported they sought help from some type of formal institutionalized support program regarding managing financial issues while in college.

Just over half of the respondents in this study (n = 7) reported they had previously participated in another program similar to the Promise Scholars Program.

The Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) was reported to be utilized by most of the respondents. The EOP Program is a University-based mentoring program for all first year students on campus. Others reported also participating in a few high school or community-based programs they believed to be similar to the Promise Scholars

Program. Just over half of the participants in this study (n = 7) also reported receiving help directly from the Promise Scholars Program. This was consistent with the number of participants who were aware of the Program and who had used its services.

The majority reported the Promise Scholars Program has been more helpful than not.

When asked for examples, respondents reported a range of services, including that the

Promise Scholars Program had helped them by providing them with a mentor or that they had received emotional, financial, and academic assistance from the program.

Half (n=6) of the participants in this study reported having a faculty mentor; all of those who did reported they met with their mentor regularly.

Almost all of the respondents (n = 11) indicated they had sought help from some type of campus support programs when they were in need of help. They were split, however, on how frequently they did so. Almost half (n = 5) of the respondents indicated they sought help “all the time” or “very often” and a third (n = 4) indicated they did so, but only infrequently or “a few times”.

Research Question #2 - Description of Mentoring Connections

For the purpose of this study the researcher asked the participants several questions intended to garner insight regarding their perceptions about supportive mentors. As for research question #1, only the data collected at the Promise Scholars

Orientation event (plus the single participant from the Promise Scholars Social event) were included in the analysis related to this research question.

In exploring the role of mentorship participants were asked who they went to when tragedy occurred in their lives or when emotional support was needed. The

34 participants reported having a wide variety of support sources, and the researcher identified three themes in their responses. These included family, institutionalized support systems, and non-familial connections. Several participants reported receiving support from more than one category of the three categories listed.

When emotional support was needed the most frequent answer provided by participants was that they went to a mentor. This was reported by 7 of the 12 (58%) participants in the study. Of those who reported non-mentor connections (n = 4), 3 indicated they turned to family and 1 indicated that he or she shut down, or could not rely on anyone. Importantly, when all responses were combined, the vast majority of the participants (n = 10) reported receiving the most support from informal sources such as friends and family compared to formal sources such as mentoring agencies.

Participants were also asked who they contacted when they needed advice. All but one individual reported being able to rely on themselves, another trusted person, or that they had a support network to go to when they needed advice (n = 11). Half of the participants (n = 6) also reported they sometimes relied on formal support networks such as assigned mentors or supportive faculty members for advice.

Surprisingly there was a high number of participants who reported they had never participated in a mentoring program. Nearly twice as many participants reported they had not participated in a mentoring program than those who reported prior participation. Three fourths of the participants who had participated in a mentoring program found it to be helpful, yet it was not a common experience. One participant reported that he or she was not aware of the existence of mentoring

35 programs prior to attending the Promise Scholars Student Orientation session.

Interestingly, while most participants reported they had never participated in a mentoring program, most also indicated they had someone in their life that they considered to be a mentor. Over 80% of the participants (10 out of 12) reported they had someone in their life they considered to be a mentor; their mentors included family, friends, coaches, and sorority sisters. This seems consistent with the earlier finding that most participants identified informal sources of emotional support as being more present in their lives that formal. Since mentoring programs are, by definition, formal structures, it is consistent that participants in this study had little experience with them. Natural mentors, by nature, are usually more personal as the mentee personally selects their mentor. This, in many cases, allows space for the mentee to solicit emotional support from their mentor.

Importantly, even though this study was conducted with Transitional-Aged youth, which by definition means they were in foster care as youth, nearly all of the participants in this study reported having a parent figure or a familial role model in their lives. One participant reported, “I have always thought of my guardian as my dad.” Another reported, “My foster parents are still in my life and they are good role models.” This means that in spite of being removed from caregivers as a child, familial connections remain a central element in these young people’s lives.

Additional Graduated Participants

As stated earlier, additional information related to the role of TAY utilization of mentoring was collected from 4 participants selected separately via snowball

36 sampling. All of the participants identified via the snowball sampling were already graduates from college; therefore, they were not applicable to the first research question related to the experiences of currently enrolled students. Results related to these participants’ answers are, therefore, being provided separately from data related to the undergraduate students making up the primary participants in this study. It was decided that the information these participants provided, although not the directly intended sample, could allow for comparison between current undergraduate students in the Promise Scholars Program with individuals who share a common background but who have now successfully completed their college program. The results of mentorship experiences of these college graduates, as well as their relationship with the experiences of the current college students, are discussed below.

The 4 respondents who already had a college degree (who were graduated) and also had foster care histories at the time of the study reported that when something tragic happened they primarily were able to go to family for emotional support. Three of the four participants reported going to family for assistance, compared to only one who reported going to a mentor. This was consistent with the

Promise Scholars participants who primarily reported using non-formal support systems such as family and friends for emotional support under tragic circumstances.

The respondents who had a college degree and also had foster care histories were split on whether they would contact formal or informal support systems for advice should the need arise. Out of the 4 respondents, 2 said they would reach out for formal support from either counselors or coaches (formal mentors) and 2 reported

37 they would contact their informal support networks made up of their friends for support.

Similar to the TAY who attended the Promise Scholars Orientation, most of the graduated group also had not participated in a formal mentoring program. Of the 4 graduated participants, one reported having participated in a formal mentoring program in their past compared to 3 who indicated they had never participated in such a mentoring program. All 4 of the individuals did report having a mentor while enrolled in college and also reported that this was very helpful, although these mentors did not appear to be a part of a formal program. One of the four reported that he or she did have a formal mentor in the past but that he or she did not utilize the mentor or receive any assistance from them.

Finally, similar to the Promise Scholars participants, graduated respondents reported they currently had someone in their lives that they looked up to or considered to be a mentor. All 4 of these respondents reported having a person they considered to be a mentor in life, with 3 indicating this person was a family member.

This is consistent with results gleaned from Promise Scholars participants, which illustrates that having a foster care history does not equate to a lack of family history and relationships.

Summary

This study reinforced the need for and benefit of support for TAY during their enrollment in college. More research designed specifically for this population is of great importance given the barriers they face and the often poor outcomes individuals

38 experience in life after Child Protective Services intervention. The majority of the participants in this study reported being unaware of formal mentoring services available to them during their enrollment in college. Many reported needing additional support after they transitioned from their foster care setting to adulthood and life on campus. Many were open to participating in formal institutionalized support programs as well as pursuing informal mentor connections. Campus support programs like the Promise Scholars Program could engage in future research designed to inform their efforts to develop strategies to engage this population in order to offer support to a population that may otherwise be unaware of the pitfalls they may encounter once on campus.

CHAPTER V

DISCUSSION

This exploratory study provides client driven feedback on how TAY students at California State University, Stanislaus perceive formal mentor programs and informal mentoring connections while enrolled in college. Perhaps research on TAY college students can provide further insight into the program components, policy, and quality of services offered to TAY students who actively seek assistance at the

Promise Scholars Program on campus. In an effort to keep all responses confidential, no identifying information about the participants was asked. Participants completed a brief questionnaire aimed to address two specific research questions that were designed to provide insight about the impact of mentorship in addressing the phenomenon of poor outcomes of TAY during their enrollment in college. The guiding questions included: 1) How do TAY students at California State University,

Stanislaus utilize the institutionalized formal helping services like the Promise

Scholars Program on campus to meet their needs? 2) How do TAY students at

California State University, Stanislaus describe any informal natural mentor connections in relation to their college success?

Overview of Major Findings

The first research question that guided this study asked how TAY students at

California State University, Stanislaus utilized institutionalized formal helping services like the Promise Scholars Program on campus to meet their needs.

Unfortunately, when you consider the participants who graduated from college coupled with current student who were enrolled at California State University,

Stanislaus, the majority of the participants in this study reported they were unfamiliar with the Promise Scholars Program on campus or the services that were available. It is difficult to draw conclusions based on this, however, since access to a sample required attendance at an orientation session. It can be assumed that students new to the University, and attending an orientation session, likely had limited information about the program. Even still, it is important to recognize that lack of knowledge about available services has great importance in terms of such service programs being able to carry out the intended purpose. Those who reported accessing services through the Promise Scholars Program found academic, financial, and mentoring services to be helpful, and many of the participants reached out to formal institutionalized helping services when they needed financial support. Perhaps one of the most direct implications of these findings is that increasing knowledge about the availability of these resources could have a positive impact on the college success of

TAY students.

The second research question in this study asked how TAY students at

California State University, Stanislaus described any informal natural mentor connections utilized in relation to their college success. Most of the participants in the study reported they had, in fact, formed a special connection with someone they considered to be a mentor, and many indicated they had relied on these relationships for support of various kinds during their college careers. This implies that both within

41 the college system, and within the foster care system which precedes college for TAY students, efforts should be made to help foster youth develop and maintain natural connections with family, friends, or service providers who can fill this informal mentoring role on an ongoing basis.

Existing Knowledge

A study by former California State University, Stanislaus professor, A.G.

Pérez, and his colleague, N. Rolock, sought to explore what they identified as the three sides to the foster care story which they explained as being the lived experiences, the official case records, and what they called the space in-between the two (Pérez & Rolock, 2016). Pérez’s and Rolock’s (2016) study highlighted the limitations with primarily seeking administrative data to evaluate organizations or for assessing the wellbeing of children, and for understanding child welfare outcomes.

This perspective can similarly be applied to former foster youth who attend college. It is not enough to accept the findings in the literature which document their poor outcomes (the “administrative data,” so to speak). It is also important to hear from former foster youth college students about their lived experiences and about how they navigate “the space in between the two.” This researcher found it to be imperative to solicit feedback directly from TAY who were currently attending California State

University, Stanislaus regarding their perceptions of the Promise Scholars Program on campus (their lived experience) as well as their perceptions regarding their formal and informal or natural mentors (the space in between).

It is widely accepted that all youth need supportive adult connections to thrive

(Reis, Collins, & Berscheid, 2000; Roffey, 2012; Zimmerman et al., 2013). The need for connection does not end at the point of emancipation from the child welfare system or the point of moving out of a childhood home or placement. This study sought to explore the perceptions of TAY enrolled at California State University,

Stanislaus regarding their supportive connections and about how they met these needs. Participants shared their views regarding their need for supportive services, and how their enduring natural mentoring relationships impacted their outcomes during their college enrollment.

Although this study did not seek to evaluate the effectiveness of the Promise

Scholars Program as it related to TAY graduation success, it did seek to understand how TAY youth on campus perceived the institutionalized formal helping services in relation to helping them accomplish their academic goals. According to Harry Stack

Sullivan’s (1938) interpersonal theory of personality, human development occurs within the context of meaningful connections that are formed between individuals. In addition to seeking self-reported feedback from TAY regarding their perceptions of institutionalized formal helping services, this study also gathered TAY direct feedback regarding their natural individual relationships and their natural mentor connections.

Knowing that TAY tend to experience poor outcomes once they leave foster care and as they enroll in college, and also knowing that the Promise Scholars

Program offers a variety of services to help mitigate these poor outcomes, this study

43 found it important to also include TAY self-reported perceptions regarding their personal connections with their natural mentors. The process of TAY selecting a natural mentor during their transition to adulthood differs from current research regarding moving towards relational permanence while youth are still under the age of 18 and still residing in a foster care setting. Relational permanence for youth in the foster care system is usually driven by policy, whereas natural mentors during college are usually less formal and driven by each individual TAY. Existing research by

Cushing, Samuels, and Kerman (2014) define relational permanence as a “mutually committed, life long, family connection to an adult-parental figure” (p. 74).

Relational permanence, however, is not required by law after a youth ages out of foster care. Foster parents cannot be forced to maintain enduring relationships with youth they have cared for if they chose not to.

Some researchers express reservations about whether legal permanence can endure or stand the test of time (Pérez, 2014; Samuels & Pryce, 2008; Stott, 2013).

Through connections at the Promise Scholars Program, however, the institution is attempting to provide a version of such support for TAY, and some participants in this study seemed to indicate that these services were, to some extent, successful.

Participants who were aware of the Promise Scholars services were generally satisfied with those services. Unfortunately, however, many participants were unfamiliar with this service availability. Additionally, natural mentor selection in the

Promise Scholars Program begins and ends with the TAY identifying and forming a connection with a faculty member who is willing to step into the role as mentor based

44 on a mutual bond that is formed between the two. While this does not equate to life- long family connections, the formation of this bond may function as a protective factor for the TAY population (Zimmerman et al., 2013) in college. Most of the TAY students in this study self-reported they had individuals in their lives who they selected and viewed as positive supportive mentors. Empowering TAY to maintain connections with individuals in their lives after they age out of foster care who are able to mentor them during their college experience may prove to provide a safety net against barriers and learned helplessness.

Limitations

The primary limitation of this study was related to gaining sufficient participants. During the Fall semester of 2017 this researcher contacted a key informant at the Promise Scholars Program and presented the proposal to conduct research for this study. A plan was developed to interview students who were active in the program. Originally the researcher planned to conduct in-depth interviews with the first five to eight students who responded to an invitation to participate in this study. However due to limited response, time constraints, and as a result of the resignation of multiple California State University Stanislaus personnel, a modified sampling plan that included a confidential questionnaire was developed to solicit information from students who were engaged in the Promise Scholars Program in order to speed up the data collection process.

Using this modified sampling plan, the researcher provided a questionnaire and consent form to approximately six students who attended the Promise Scholars Social

45 in April 2018 and informed them that the first five students who turned in the completed questionnaire would be eligible to receive a honorarium in the form of a gift card for their participation in this study. However, only one student completed the questionnaire at this event. This student was provided a $25.00 gift card for his or her cooperation in participating in this study.

Due to only one student responding, a confidential email was sent to those who attended the social event as well as to other students who received services from the

Promise Scholars Program who still attended California State University, Stanislaus; however, no additional students completed the questionnaire at that time. The researcher then extended the opportunity to students who had connections with the

Promise Scholars Program to respond to the questionnaire through June 2018 as well as to graduate students who were enrolled in the Masters of Social Work program at

California State University, Stanislaus (the program the researcher was enrolled in) who had previously personally disclosed to the researcher they, too, had foster care histories. The graduate students were also asked to forward copies of the questionnaire to anyone they knew who had enrolled in college and also had foster care histories. Only one member of the researcher’s graduate school cohort responded and completed the questionnaire. Using snowball sampling three additional students who graduated from college in California (but NOT from California State University,

Stanislaus) also completed the questionnaire and three of the four respondents qualified and received a $25.00 honorarium in the form of a gift card. By the end of the summer of 2018 the research had a total of five questionnaires completed;

46 however only two of them were completed by students who were enrolled at

California State University, Stanislaus.

The researcher maintained contact with the key informant connected with the

Promise Scholars Program during the summer of 2018, and she continued to be interested in supporting the study. The researcher agreed to attend the first annual

Promise Scholars Orientation event which was anticipated to be held early in the fall

2018 semester. This limited the ability to gather in-depth lived experiences of participants, especially since many were new to the University and to the program, and instead results were more categorical. Ultimately, reaching out to this population during the fall semester proved to be beneficial to both the researcher and the students as most of the students reported they were unaware of the services the Promise

Scholars Program offered prior to this event. Most of the students attending this event decided to participate in the study. Most also appeared optimistic about their opportunities through the program, and seemed to look forward to reaching out to members connected with the program for support. Future research should expand on these results to gather insight into their experiences in the program as well as their lived experiences in the areas of the relationships they develop and mentorship opportunities.

Implications for Social Work Practice and Policy

This qualitative study includes findings useful for social work practice and policy, with an emphasis on empowering TAY to access resources and form supportive connections with mentors of their choice. Given the limited information

47 participants had about the program, policy should include outreach from the Promises

Scholars Program administrators, which should include an emphasis on education and access to resources within an environment that creates opportunities for natural mentor connections to develop. Polices in foster care encourage legal permanence in an effort to create enduring life-long connections between youth who are in foster care and their care providers; however, extant research indicates reservations regarding whether connections post-permanency will last (Pérez, 2014; Samuels &

Pryce, 2008; Stott, 2013). Efforts should be made to understand legal permanency and enduring relational permanency as it relates to TAY’s life-long connections and mentors. Educating TAY on why it is important to access formal helping networks, how to build enduring connections with mentors, and their benefits may empower them and move them away from a learned helplessness state of mind.

There is also a need to develop indicators to evaluate resource engagement and social connections in order measure non-tangible phenomenon such as relationships between parents and peers, connections to teachers and commitment in school, resilience when confronted with difficulties, and community engagement or civic duty (Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 2015).

Participants in this study were asked about their awareness of services that were available to them through formal institutionalized support services such as the

Promise Scholars Program. The majority of the participants in this study either responded they were unaware of the Promise Scholars Program or unaware of how they might benefit from accessing formal institutionalized support services. Many

TAY are unaware of what they do not know or what barriers are inherent to this unique vulnerable population.

Creating an opportunity for TAY to connect with each other and motivating them to take an active role in learning about their collective needs and barriers may help mitigate the effects of learned helplessness that are often unintentionally reinforced within this population. Rather than having their decisions made for them, which is common for youth who are in foster care, TAY who are enrolled in college and who are also accessing support from the Promise Scholars Program, are provided with opportunities to make their own informed decisions, but to access guidance and support when doing so. Research supports the belief that continued guidance and supportive resources provided to TAY through the Promise Scholars Program could foster positive outcomes for TAY as the need for attachment and meaningful connections with preferred individuals or mentors extends throughout one’s lifetime

(Ainsworth, 1989). Little is known about the effects of natural mentoring among the

TAY population; however this study found that nearly all of the participants endorsed having natural mentors in their life. Categories of natural mentors listed in this study included faculty members, coaches, high school teachers, extended family, and foster parents. This is consistent with past literature (Greeson et al., 2016).

Implications for Future Research

Previous research proposes that TAY with histories of maltreatment may be less likely to pursue mentoring relationships with adults after traumatic exposure

(Britner & Kraimer-Rickaby, 2005). This study did not explore whether the lack of a

49 mentor in a participant’s life was due the lack of trust as a result of past trauma.

Learned helplessness and complex trauma may also contribute to TAY believing that they cannot rely on adult mentors for help (National Child Traumatic Stress Network, n.d.). Future studies should examine the TAY population and the effects associated with natural mentoring over time.

This research did not explore the distinction between the outcomes of TAY who emancipated from a 300 (WIC) or 602 (PC) group home setting from those who were adopted or resided in a kinship placement environment. Also, some TAY have multiple placement experiences prior to aging out of foster care which may impact their willingness to seek support and guidance from mentors or supportive programs.

This study only provides an initial look into these issues and can serve as a starting point for further exploration. It is important to continue to explore how best to assist this vulnerable population and to support their success in making positive steps to enhance the course of their lives.

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