DOTHAN, Ala. (WDNews) – More than 300 Alabama foster care youth have the chance to receive up to $5,000 per year for college or trade school expenses through the “Support for Success Program.”
The program, funded by a federal grant and administered by the nonprofit Embrace Alabama Kids, is designed to ease financial burdens for young people who have aged out of the foster care system.
“College should be a time of education and exploration, not of fear and anxiety,” said K. Blake Horne, Embrace Alabama Kids president and CEO, in a statement. “Our higher education program has been providing that safe home base for a select group of foster youth to attend college for years.”
Eligibility is open to current or former foster youth who turned 18 while in foster care, as well as those adopted or placed in kinship-guardianship programs after age 16. Applications can be made online at the Embrace Alabama Kids website, by emailing [email protected], or by calling (334) 387-2168.
The nonprofit also operates two foster homes specifically for higher education students—one serving the University of North Alabama and Northwest Shoals Community College, and another serving the University of Alabama, Shelton State Community College, and Stillman College.
Nationally, less than 10% of foster youth complete a college degree, according to the National Foster Youth Institute. In Alabama, state data shows about 63% of foster youth graduated high school during the 2023-24 school year, the lowest graduation rate among student groups.
