By: Tracy Sherlock

When Tia Schaefer turned 19, she faced a B次元官网网址渟urvive or dieB次元官网网址� situation.

She had been in government care for four years, starting when she was 15. She spent a year in a foster home and three years on a youth agreement B次元官网网址� a form of independent living with financial support from the government. At age 19, government support ended and she had to look after herself.

She managed to eke out a living in part-time and full-time jobs, but never had quite enough money. At times she had to couch-surf to get by.

University, which is expensive, wasnB次元官网网址檛 even on her radar.

And then she learned that in B.C. tuition is covered for kids who grew up in care.

Then she learned that in British Columbia, tuition is covered for kids who grew up in care.

Schaefer is now 25 and in her third year of studies towards a bachelorB次元官网网址檚 degree in child and youth care at NanaimoB次元官网网址檚 Vancouver Island University.

She says she wouldnB次元官网网址檛 be where she is without that tuition waiver B次元官网网址� and sheB次元官网网址檚 certainly not alone.

NDP initiative replaced a patchwork of programs

VIU is at the forefront of a provincial program that covers the cost of tuition for students aged 19 to 26 who spent at least two years in government care.

The initiative was launched by the NDP government in September 2017, when they took a patchwork of programs designed to help these young adults and made them universal, waiving tuition at B.C.B次元官网网址檚 25 public post-secondary schools. In July 2018, the program expanded to foundation and apprenticeship training at 10 union-based training providers.

Today, more than young people who grew up in care are studying for free.

ItB次元官网网址檚 a significant feat for a child raised in government care to make it to post-secondary school: just

of them have a high school diploma by the time they turn 19, compared with 84.6 per cent of the general population. Another one-quarter leave school with an adult graduation diploma or a completion certificate, but those donB次元官网网址檛 always qualify a student for university.

There are questions, however, about whether the program goes far enough.

Tuition, for example, accounts for just one-third of post-secondary costs. More significantly, so many potential students donB次元官网网址檛 fit the government criteria that both VIU and the University of British Columbia offer waivers for students who are older than 26 or who werenB次元官网网址檛 in care long enough to qualify.

Approximately 7,500 children are in care at any given time, with 750 to 1,000 aging out each year.

Vancouver Island University leads the way

Former foster children have been attending VIU tuition-free since 2013, when VIU president Ralph Nilson launched the experiment at the urging of Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, who was then B.C.B次元官网网址檚 Representative for Children and Youth.

That first September, 19 former foster kids headed to VIU: their average age was 29, they were all women, and half of them had children of their own.

Since then, VIU has funded at least 200 students. Today, nearly 100 of their 9,000 full-time students are on tuition-waivers, the highest number in the province followed by Camosun College in Victoria, the University of the Fraser Valley and Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops.

About 85 per cent of those students are women, half of them with children. About three-quarters are 19 to 26, but 25 of them are older, including 17 over the age of 30.

B次元官网网址淎ny student who comes, they are just taken care of,B次元官网网址� Nilson said. B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 distinguish between them.B次元官网网址�

The only stipulation is that students must have been in care for at least one year.

B次元官网网址淭hese are good, solid, resilient people, who are going to make a good contribution,B次元官网网址� Nilson said.

At the University of British ColumbiaB次元官网网址橞次元官网网址檚 Vancouver campus, 32 students are on tuition waivers, 15 of whom do not qualify for the provincial waiver but are funded by UBC anyway. In February, UBC removed a restriction related to the amount of time between aging out and attending university.

B次元官网网址淪o, we could see a different type of population come to the institution now, because previously we had a restriction where you had five years after leaving care to enroll at UBC,B次元官网网址� said Darran Fernandez, associate registrar and director of enrolment services at UBC.

In 2015-16, before the provincial program was introduced, UBC waived $93,358 in tuition fees. Today, even with the program in place, the school waives $77,595 in fees.

Both UBC and VIU said any money saved due to the provincial program is redirected to the financial aid budget, toward support for the tuition-waiver students or for other forms of access.

Both VIU and UBC B次元官网网址� where 45 former youth in care now study across all campuses B次元官网网址� have dedicated advisors or counsellors for these students and offer other types of support. They realized early on that simply providing free tuition wouldnB次元官网网址檛 be enough to set these students on a path to success. Students needed help in other areas, such as childcare, housing and groceries.

Government support programs have both time limits and age limits, which means many former foster children are not eligible.

B次元官网网址淭hey cover very, very few of the students and they were so limiting,B次元官网网址� Nilson said. B次元官网网址淭hese kids have nobody to call.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址業t needs to be so much more than a waiverB次元官网网址�

Tuition amounts to just one-third of a studentB次元官网网址檚 post-secondary expenses, said William Litchfield, VIUB次元官网网址檚 associate vice-president, university relations.

B次元官网网址淛ust because you have tuition waived, it doesnB次元官网网址檛 mean you can afford to go to school. You still have to pay rent and eat and pay electricity and other things.B次元官网网址�

Dedicated advisors work with tuition-waiver students, making sure they know about all of the available support.

The province, for example, offers a program called for people who have aged out of care. It provides $1,250 a month for up to 48 months while they go to school or receive training. Of the who aged out of care between April 2016 and March 2017, 240 B次元官网网址� or 27 per cent B次元官网网址� were supported by AYA within a year. The province spends about $8 million a year on AYA and other funding for these students.

At VIU, one donor pays for all textbooks, while donations from others provide a bit of extra cash for the students in the form of a cheque each semester. Both VIU and UBC also have emergency funding that can be used as needed.

B次元官网网址淚 do want to stress that it needs to be so much more than a waiver,B次元官网网址� said Fernandez. B次元官网网址淲e really want to make sure that weB次元官网网址檙e not just giving someone money and then just walking away, because thatB次元官网网址檚 not going to lead to very much success for anyone.B次元官网网址�

UBC can help with text books, bedding, kitchen supplies and other basics, Fernandez said.

At VIU recently, a student was struggling at home in an unsafe environment.

Within an hour of learning about the situation, VIU had the student moved into a residence, with a fridge full of groceries and brand new linens on their bed, Litchfield said.

Helping children whoB次元官网网址檝e grown up in care seems to resonate with donors. VIU has raised more than $1 million to pay for these studentsB次元官网网址� expenses B次元官网网址� above and beyond the tuition waivers B次元官网网址� over the past five years, Litchfield said.

Student navigator supports peers at VIU

One of the things VIU did to support students with lived experience in government care is to create the roll of B次元官网网址渘avigatorB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� a student who is paid to help students who have lived in government care.

B次元官网网址淭he navigator is a person who is almost like a peer, who can do some of that significant other work and provide comfort and check in regularly with the students, helping them with their voice,B次元官网网址� Nilson said.

Tia Schaefer is now the peer navigator at VIU.

B次元官网网址淭ia helps support students, typically in the first year or two, to find those additional supports around campus,B次元官网网址� Litchfield said. B次元官网网址淢aybe thatB次元官网网址檚 taking them to the writing centre, or having an event to bring the community together to help them develop social networks.B次元官网网址�

Schaefer hosts workshops two or three times a month, based on what students want: sometimes itB次元官网网址檚 advice with finances or cooking or sewing, sometimes itB次元官网网址檚 a social activity. For Christmas, Schaefer organizes a holiday gift hamper for any of the former foster children who request one.

B次元官网网址淪ometimes they struggle because itB次元官网网址檚 a little bit of culture shock,B次元官网网址� Schaefer said. B次元官网网址淪ome people never expected to be here. I know I never did. Sometimes thatB次元官网网址檚 hard.B次元官网网址�

The adjustment can be difficult both academically and emotionally.

Verukah Poirier B次元官网网址� a third-year Indigenous Studies major at UBC whose long-term goals include law school B次元官网网址� spent most of her childhood in care, either with extended family or foster parents.

Poirier, 21, doesnB次元官网网址檛 know of anyone else in her family who has a university degree, although some of her relatives have a college education or trades training.

B次元官网网址淪chool is very stressful,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淪ometimes you just feel overwhelmed and that nobody understands where youB次元官网网址檙e coming from.B次元官网网址�

UBC, which has extremely high admissions standards, has a different admissions policy for former youth in care, who are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

B次元官网网址淭his recognizes that theyB次元官网网址檝e probably faced different life experiences. ItB次元官网网址檚 quite similar to what we have for our Aboriginal applicants,B次元官网网址� Fernandez said.

B次元官网网址淲hat weB次元官网网址檝e seen from our students, theyB次元官网网址檙e doing quite well. I think that much of that is coming from their own drive to be here B次元官网网址� that theyB次元官网网址檙e making a conscious decision to pursue this B次元官网网址� as well as the supports that exist.B次元官网网址�

One of the benefits for UBC in expanding on the provinceB次元官网网址檚 tuition waivers is that many students who have been in foster care are also members of other under-represented groups: first-generation learners, Indigenous learners or those from rural communities.

Fernandez sees potential in these students.

B次元官网网址淲hat we do know from statistics is that people who hold tertiary forms of education B次元官网网址� diplomas, certificates, degrees B次元官网网址� is that their earning potential is much higher and their opportunity to access other resources is much higher.B次元官网网址�

The future of the program

When he talks about the tuition-waiver program, Litchfield is extremely confident about one thing: students like Schaefer and Poirier will be successful throughout the province.

B次元官网网址淎 lot of the students IB次元官网网址檝e talked to didnB次元官网网址檛 do great in high school and they didnB次元官网网址檛 really see their way forward,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hen all of a sudden, theyB次元官网网址檙e on the deanB次元官网网址檚 list every year and theyB次元官网网址檙e some of the most motivated, passionate, resilient students in all of their classes.B次元官网网址�

Schools like VIU, he said, also benefit from having them there.

B次元官网网址淲e get a bunch of great students and we also meet our mandate as an access university,B次元官网网址� Nilson said.

But the program isnB次元官网网址檛 perfect. If universities stick to the provincial age cap of 26, they miss out on great students.

B次元官网网址淭hese students are unbelievable. TheyB次元官网网址檙e so strong, theyB次元官网网址檙e so motivated. Our province is missing out,B次元官网网址� Litchfield said. B次元官网网址淭o tell someone who is 27, IB次元官网网址檓 sorry youB次元官网网址檝e missed the boat, your time is done. No. WeB次元官网网址檝e had someone in their 50s.B次元官网网址�

Tuition waivers also donB次元官网网址檛 cover graduate studies, and VIU has had requests as more students approach graduation.

Schaefer said she would love to do a graduate degree in education or counselling, if she could afford it.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e working on it,B次元官网网址� Litchfield said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 trying to find how.B次元官网网址�

Premier John Horgan hasnB次元官网网址檛 ruled out expanding the program at some point.

B次元官网网址淚f there is an opportunity and the resources are available and the demand is there, weB次元官网网址檒l certainly look at expanding the program,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e need to create a skilled environment and that means opening doors to training and thatB次元官网网址檚 exactly what this program does for those under 26. If we need to expand it, we will.B次元官网网址�

Melanie Mark, B.C.B次元官网网址檚 minister of advanced education, is a former youth in care herself. After she aged out she went to Vancouver Island University when it was Malaspina College, ultimately earning a bachelor of arts in political science from Simon Fraser University. She also spent eight years working for the Representative for Children and Youth.

Mark said it was B次元官网网址渓ike living a dreamB次元官网网址� to be able to announce the universal program and that the province will continue to build on it.

ItB次元官网网址檚 too soon to know if the program needs to be expanded, she said.

B次元官网网址淲hat does success look like? We donB次元官网网址檛 know B次元官网网址� we are blazing trails here,B次元官网网址� she said.

While the vast majority of students are in the faculties of arts and science, students are also graduating with degrees in business, nursing, social work and other fields.

These students are the voices that will change the future, Nilson said.

B次元官网网址淚 want to help them understand that our hand is on their back,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲here you go, weB次元官网网址檙e going to support you. DonB次元官网网址檛 ever feel like if you fall down, youB次元官网网址檙e going to disappear. WeB次元官网网址檙e going to lift you up and weB次元官网网址檙e going to hold you up. B次元官网网址� Allowing them to recognize that they are powerful as individuals and as a collective is one of the most important parts of our work here.B次元官网网址�

This story was produced as part of Spotlight: Child Welfare B次元官网网址� a collaborative journalism project that aims to deepen reporting on B.C.B次元官网网址檚 child-welfare system. It was originally published in the National Observer. .