Project Summary
The research team was contracted by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to conduct an evaluation of programs serving youth in or transitioning out of foster care, called the Chafee Strengthening Outcomes for Transition to Adulthood (SOTA) Project. This project intends to utilize innovative methods for testing promising practices in programs serving youth transitioning out of foster care and improve the feasibility and rigor of evaluations that test the effectiveness of program services or components.
Currently, four programs are being evaluated nationwide, including Great Expectations (GE), a college coaching program for community college students in Virginia who are currently or formerly in foster or kinship care. Each Virginia community college has one Great Expectations coach whose role is to provide comprehensive support services and mentoring to youth who are in the program. Coaches can provide many services designed to meet the diverse needs of the target population, such as academic support, job placement, life skills mentoring, and access to material needs. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of GE on key educational and employment outcomes.
Data Partners
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Colorado Department of Higher Education
- Colorado Department of Labor and Employment
- Colorado Department of Human Services – Office of Children, Youth, and Families