Who:

UC's PASS center, housed in the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services (CECH), was a grant recipient of the Social Innovation Fund, which will be used to expand services for the Higher Education Mentoring Initiative (HEMI) program. The grant funds will support the specific needs of emancipated foster youth attending UC by providing a new staff position to provide support, guidance and resources to UC students who are current or former foster youth. We are pleased to announce that UC is the first institution of higher education in the state of Ohio to dedicate a staff person to support foster youth in this capacity.

What:

The program provides:

• Academic Coaching and Support
• Financial Aid, Grant, and Scholarship Guidance
• Housing Assistance

Why:

There are many factors that undermine college retention of foster youth, which include:

• Lack of college readiness
• Lack of family support
• Lack of knowledge of available resources
• Family Issues (e.g. single parent, trying to support biological parent or siblings)
• Housing Challenges.

Through this new position the barriers faced by emancipating foster youth when seeking higher education will be addressed. By providing a staff member to work with this particular population, we hope to increase student retention at UC.

Contact:

Alyssa Purvis
Program Specialist
Office: Dyer 265
Alyssa.purvis@uc.edu
556-3045

Office Hours:

Summer Office Hours: Monday-Thursday 9-5
Office Hours Beginning Autumn Quarter, 2011: Monday-Friday and by appointment

Helpful Links:

Ohio Reach
http://ohioreach.wikispaces.com/

ETV Website
https://www.statevoucher.org/state.shtml?state=OH

FAFSA
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/