Supporting Youth Aging out of Government Care with their Transition to College

For youth in and aging out of government care in British Columbia, accessing and completing college programs is a challenge that is gaining awareness in educational settings and the larger community. The research is clear; youth in and aging out of care are not as prepared as their peers to transition to college and have much less support to access them (Nichols et al. 2017, Shaffer et al. 2015). This paper identifies some of the main reasons for the discrepancy in educational outcomes, from an institutional perspective and as a broader wicked social problem. This Organizational Improvement Plan addresses this challenge by increasing supports and services for youth in and aging out of care transitioning to a British Columbia community college. It examines this problem of practice using feminist and political theoretical frameworks. Servant leadership guides the development of the plan and its characteristics are utilized to create a vision for change. Further analysis of institutional change readiness is explored using Bolman and Deals (2013) Four Frame Model. A change implementation plan is presented that streamlines services for youth in and aging out care to ensure necessary supports are provided for improved transition and the completion of Grade 12 and college programs. Keywords: Youth in and aging out of care, college transition, career exploration, academic upgrading, Service Delivery Model, servant leadership.