Disability Compliance 5

For Higher Education

Student Success
Glean lessons learned from foster care support programs
to help students succeed after pandemic-related trauma
By Warren Hilton, Ed.D.; Susan Mangold, M.A.; Nicole Generose; and Joanna Suriel
The COVID-19 pandemic upended the sense of student suspected she had a fever but didn’t have
community many col- a thermometer, her coach
lege students relied upon. delivered a thermometer to
When in-person classes
About the authors her door. This type of sup-
and events were suspend- Warren Hilton, Ed.D., is VP for Enrollment Man- port relieves feelings of anx-
ed, feelings of anxiety and agement and Student Affairs; Susan Mangold, M.A., iety and provides a trau-
loss swelled among the is Assistant Dean of Students; and Nicole Generose ma-informed approach to
student population. It’s no and Joanna Suriel are Providing Resources and Op- assisting students during
surprise that some stu- portunities for Future Standouts Program Graduate a pandemic. In essence,
dents needed more than Assistants, all at Kutztown University. You may email the additional care and
just refunds for housing, Hilton at hilton@kutztown.edu.  ■ support let students know
meal plans, and other fees. they aren’t alone and their
Interestingly enough, that set of circumstances campus community is there to not only support them
seems quite similar to those regularly encountered through their academic endeavors but also to help
by those in higher education foster care support pro- them with their nonacademic needs.
grams. In fact, youth are placed in foster care for two In addition to weekly coaching, PROFS students
leading reasons: neglect and inability of a caregiver participate in weekly virtual study halls, which
to care for the child. Many students displaced from provide them with dedicated time for working on
campuses due to the pandemic felt like their colleges class assignments as well as receiving support for
couldn’t care for them during a time of crisis. The developing and implementing other skills needed
lessons we in student affairs are learning from this for success, such as time management, calendar
pandemic are ones that foster care support programs development for managing transitions to online
at higher education institutions already know — stu- courses, and self-care. PROFS students also receive
dents who have experienced or are experiencing trau- care packages and gift cards to online retailers and
ma need an additional level of care. In other words, local grocery stores, which had special value during
students who feel neglected, abandoned, or displaced the government-mandated stay-at-home orders.
by colleges and universities during times of crisis, And the program provided PROFS students with
such as pandemics, need a different level of care. help applying for SNAP benefits. Some students
At Kutztown University, our Providing Resources even received support with the complex process of
and Opportunities for Future Standouts foster care applying for county disability benefits, which they
support program provides a roadmap for support- would need for both their immediate and long-term
ing students in times of crisis, like the COVID-19 academic and professional success.  (For a list of
pandemic. Sole Ruiz is a student receiving support benefits provided to PROFS students, go to  www.
through the PROFS program. In a TV interview prior kutztown.edu/PROFSProgram.)
to the pandemic, she remarked that the additional The real-life example of Ruiz’s experience as a
care and support provided to students who were PROFS student gives colleges and universities some-
displaced “makes us actually think we can become thing to think about as they determine how to sup-
something that a lot of people think we couldn’t.” port students exposed to trauma like the COVID-19
PROFS students who experienced the trauma of pandemic. Ruiz told us she wants people to know
being displaced from their families and communi- “it’s a lot more complicated than people think, and
ties benefit from weekly coaching sessions led by it’s really kind of frustrating” when people don’t un-
trained program staff. These sessions, provided vir- derstand students’ needs. As higher education insti-
tually during the pandemic, give students an outlet tutions disburse CARES Act funds and other emer-
to express their lived experiences — the good, the gency resources, they can take a trauma-informed
bad, and the ugly. Coaches listen, work with the approach much like that of college foster care sup-
students to create solutions, and refer them to on- port programs. Those who do so will help their stu-
and off-campus resources. dents succeed at overcoming feelings of anxiety and
The coaches frequently go above and beyond to loss, and ultimately enable them to successfully con-
meet students’ needs. For example, when a PROFS tinue and complete their education.  ■

© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC, A Wiley Company Vol. 26, Iss. 4

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