From Foster Care to College Navigating Educational Challenges and Creating Possibilities

WINNER! National Association for Student Affairs Professionals (NASPA) 2026 Faculty Council Outstanding Publication Award

How do youth placed in foster care aspire to and access college? This book chronicles the lives and experiences of 49 college students navigating the challenging terrain of the United States’ foster care system. Through in-depth interviews, Johnson provides insight into the harsh realities of how our nation’s educational and welfare systems often intertwine in ways that diminish the potential and opportunities for these young people. Yet amidst the adversities, these stories resonate with themes of hope, resistance, and possibility.
Guided by resilience theory and other asset-based concepts, Johnson sheds light on the protective mechanisms that enable postsecondary access and success, even in the face of towering barriers. Beyond providing an exposition, this book serves as a clarion call to educators, school and university leaders, and child welfare champions to stand tall and act decisively. The goal? To transform the precarious circumstances of young people in foster care and dismantle the obstacles that thwart their educational pursuits and dreams.
Book Features:

• Employs critical and asset-based theories and concepts that recognize the agencies, desires, and possibilities of youth in foster care.
• Brings attention to the intersectionality of identities and social structures that shape students’ educational pathways.
• Identifies system failures across education and child welfare sectors and how they interact with one another.
• Presents findings from empirical research about risks and protective factors that influence success at critical junctures along the college-going pipeline.
• Offers recommendations for various stakeholders who seek to improve the educational experiences and outcomes of youth in foster care.

Royel M. Johnson is associate professor of education and social work at the University of Southern California and director of the National Assessment of Collegiate Campus Climates in the USC Race and Equity Center.