Recap: Serving Vulnerable Populations

Sponsored by Medrisk

Recap: Serving Vulnerable Populations

Recap: Serving Vulnerable Populations

Sponsored by Medrisk

From hunger or homelessness, to being a caregiver to parents or siblings, or aging out of foster care – these and other situations can put students at risk for timely college completion.

The April 22, 2020, Kids' Chance National Conference webinar looked at how Kids’ Chance scholarship applicants and recipients may be more vulnerable than we realize. Kim Stezala, Senior Partner at Design Group International, led the presentation in recognizing who is vulnerable, what that means, how we will know, and how scholarship providers can be proactive in helping these students overcome obstacles.

Key Take-Aways

A number of situational risks were identified:

  • First-generation status
  • Working and/or caregiver
  • Housing insecurity
  • Food insecurity
  • Bias against LGBTQ+ students

First-Generation Status

According to Greatschools.org: Nationally, of the 7.3 million undergraduates attending four-year public and private colleges and universities, about 20 percent are first-generation students. About 50 percent of all first-generation college students in the U.S. are from low-income families. These students are also more likely to be a member of a racial or ethnic minority group. This oftentimes translates into students who may miss out on professional, emotional, financial, and academic support from their families. Not that their families don’t want to support them; rather, they just don’t have the first-hand knowledge about HOW to support them. Even something as “simple” as filling out a scholarship application can be challenging when acronyms like FAFSA, SAR, and EFC abound without an easy way to make heads or tails of what is being asked. For that reason in particular, make sure your applications aren’t making assumptions about what an applicant knows about the process. Provide terminology and guidance on what is needed for successful application submission.

Working and/or Caregiver

Previous research has shown that, while working can be beneficial for students, there is a threshold where it starts to do more harm than good. Students who work 15 hours or more per week are more likely to have a C average or lower, while those who work less than 15 hours are more likely to have a B average or higher. Sometimes, students are in situations where they are either providing additional financial support to their families or they are providing the only financial support to their families. Couple that with the academic demands of a college course load and the need for flexibility in recognizing “satisfactory academic progress” (SAP) becomes paramount in scholarship award determination and/or continuance.

Housing Insecurity

Students have a tough time with this one and often don’t want to self-identify. They may not even be aware of the very broad definition of homeless (according to the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Act): a person is considered homeless who “lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence.” This includes people living in shelters, cars, motels/hotels, campgrounds, or places not meant for human habitation. The definition includes children and youth who are living with friends or relatives temporarily (doubled-up or sharing the housing of others) because they lack permanent housing. It behooves scholarship providers to understand this risk factor so that they can, in turn, help these students better navigate this issue by informing them about federal resources and allowing their scholarships to cover the full cost of attendance (COA).

Food Insecurity

Your scholarship program probably won’t address this vulnerability directly but you can think about how you can help: provide gift cards to local supermarkets, offer care packages, refer students to campus food pantries, and even think about emergency funds that you can make available to your students.

Bias against LGBTQ+ Students

These students are at greater risk for depression, suicide, homelessness, and dropping out of college. They have often been rejected by their families and feel they can’t be themselves on campus. While neither you nor your scholarship program are in the social work business, you can look at your scholarship application for potential bias and how you communicate that you will ensure confidentiality of information provided, along with educating yourself and your volunteers.

In better understanding all these vulnerabilities, you can better help these students achieve their goals. Get to know their family situations and use professional discretion to modify deadlines or make exceptions. Determine what you can do and make connections to other resources to help students persist and succeed at college.

Kids’ Chance National Conference Webinar Series

Learn more about Kids’ Chance of America and the upcoming National Conference webinars where our community still joins together to build skills that advance our mission—all from the safety and comfort of our homes.