The mission of the Fostering Lions Program is to support students entering Penn State from the foster care system by providing ongoing coaching, connecting students to university services, and developing skills for post-college success. The program assists students by connecting them with services and resources in areas that include:
- Financial support
- Academic and career planning
- Social and emotional support
- Logistic support with housing, food, transportation, etc.
Eligibility
Any student who checks box 53 on the FAFSA, which asks, "At any time since you turned age 13, were both of your parents deceased, were you in foster care, or were you a dependent or ward of the court?"; Please note that if the answer is yes, the student must submit a dependency review packet to Student Aid for “independent status” to be determined. Students will then qualify for other financial resources.
A student also qualifies to participate in the program if they self-identify within one of the following categories:
- Self-identified as having significant experience in foster care (even if that experience is within your biological family or other kinship care arrangement)
- Foster care placement after age 13
- Identification as a youth in foster care, or a youth discharged/adopted from foster care at 16
If you have any questions about Fostering Lions, please email [email protected] or call 717-948-4396