University of Cincinnati college is piloting a program to serve alumni of foster and kinship care
The CECH program will see wide-scale campus implementation in fall 2026
In today's competitive world, pressured by rapid technological changes and a tightening job market, a college education is essential to career success. But making a higher education experience accessible to all aspiring learners is a challenge, as various populations can experience significant barriers to entry and completion.
This is surely the case for individuals with a history in foster or kinship care - according to the National Foster Youth Initiative, only 3 to 4 percent of former foster youth obtain a four-year college degree, while 2 to 6 percent receive a two-year degree.
One bright spot: Locally, these numbers have seen notable improvement in recent years thanks to the efforts of Ohio Reach, a statewide network of professionals, advocates and students dedicated to supporting foster care-connected students on their journey to higher education. With the support of this organization, more Ohio youth with histories of foster or kinship care are gaining the resources needed to graduate high school and attend institutions of higher learning.
Ohio Reach Postsecondary designation
To recognize and support higher education institutions that have worked to make their campuses welcoming and accessible for students with a history in foster or kinship care, the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODE) in 2023 announced the Ohio Reach Postsecondary designation. This designation, which includes $2,500 to develop programming, is awarded to colleges and universities that meet the following criteria:
- A designated campus liaison
- Champions in various campus departments
- The ability to connect students to resources
- Basic needs, food and housing
- Community-building opportunities for students
- Targeted outreach to students, and efforts made to identify and support them
- Expanding the eligibility of on-campus services
- Staff training on working with alumni of foster care
- Succession/transition planning
- Data collection
- Mentorship
In 2024 the University of Cincinnati's Blue Ash College (UCBA) received the designation as part of the program's second cohort, making it the first college at UC and in Hamilton County to be awarded.
"We strive to meet the challenges that hinder academic completion for our students," says Emily Chu Nguyen, UC Blue Ash's Program Director of Social Services & Wellness in the Department of Student Success. "At UCBA we look at our students holistically and really want to provide not only academic success but address all barriers to student success."
CECH pilots Anchor Point program for UC's main campus
In 2025 the designation was awarded to two additional UC colleges within the Reach program's third cohort: UC Clermont College and UC Main campus. For the latter, the College of Education, Criminal Justice, Human Services, and Information Technology (CECH) will run a pilot program, titled Anchor Point, aimed at wide-scale implementation across the campus in Fall 2026.
"The decision for CECH to pilot the Ohio Reach Postsecondary designation for main campus came very naturally," says Laura Carnaghi, Associate Director of Student Success at CECH. "CECH has always been committed to supporting all students, no matter their background, so leading the pilot felt like the right move for us and for the wider UC community."
Carnaghi points to work already being done by Jordyn Freeman, Program Director for Social Services and Wellness on CECH's Student Success team, as evidence of the college's proven commitment to meeting student needs. "In the position that I am in, I'm able to help with wrap-around basic need support," explains Freeman, "whether that's emergency aid, assisting students with securing housing or helping them meet the basic needs of food, hygiene and personal items – as well as one-on-one guided mentorship."
The Anchor Point program will build on this existing framework for student support as Freeman and the rest of the Student Success Team develop services to help students with a history of foster and kinship care. These resources include expert-led financial literacy workshops, ongoing career development guidance, attention from a team dedicated to constant improvement, biweekly check-ins and personalized outreach, monthly community lunches, a wide variety of academic support services, accessibility resources and more.
The work of Jordyn Freeman, Program Director for Social Services and Wellness for UC's CECH, is central to the Anchor Point pilot program. photo/CECH Marketing
"The designation gives us access to the Ohio Children's Alliance [OCA] and their different resources," explains Freeman. "They provide robust resources to a lot of students across Ohio universities and colleges, so now we have a broad Rolodex of additional resources connected through OCA and ODE."
Freeman describes her work, which includes connecting students with scholarship opportunities and housing resources, as a powerful starting point for building a pilot program to support this vulnerable population. "When students who were previously in foster care or kinship care essentially age out of the system, they age out with no real landing pad, no support services or guidance to help them get to the next level," she says. "It puts them behind other students who have access to those resources."
She notes that the Anchor Point program is intended to empower, not enable, students, providing life skills that will help them succeed in their academic, career and life goals. "It shows them the ropes to really help those students get to that next level - walking with them through every process, every semester and showing them the way to be successful."
"It's great that they're here, but we don't want it to stop there. We want them to matriculate all the way through."
Jordyn Freeman Program Director for Social Services and Wellness, UC CECH
This commitment to student success is echoed by Carnaghi, who is pleased for CECH to pilot the Anchor Point program for the university but sees the true value in those lives that will be changed by the Anchor Point program. "The most important goal, and the reason this work matters, is to make sure students coming out of foster care or kinship care have intentional and strategic support," she says. "Ultimately, this pilot provides the opportunity for us to build and refine the program, and then use what we learn to scale it to the wider campus community."
Featured image at top: Students in a classroom listen and take notes. Photo by UC Marketing
Next Lives Here
The College of Education, Criminal Justice, Human Services and Information Technology is committed to the pursuit of discovery and excellence in research, teaching and service that addresses real world challenges and opportunities to create positive social change. The nationally renowned college includes four academic schools – School of Education, School of Criminal Justice, School of Human Services and School of Information Technology – operating under the common mission to affect communities in positive ways.
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