A popular grant program enabling Minnesota foster youth to afford higher education has received a one-year reprieve on the eve of the legislative season, after young people showed up en masse at the Capitol to plead with lawmakers.
The state’s previous $4.4 million investment planned for the second year of Fostering Independence Grants, has since been raised to $9.4 million, following approval today by Gov. Tim Walz. The funds for foster youth to attend in-state colleges and universities have been promised under a bill that passed with bipartisan support only hours before the Senate adjourned this year’s legislative session on May 19.
“This entire session has been stressful and required a lot of work and commitment from our foster community,” Nia Dyer, a former foster youth who testified in favor of the program in earlier sessions, told The Imprint. “I would do it all over again to get the outcome we got. Past, present, and future fosters deserve to know that there are people who will, and are, fighting for them. I’ll never hesitate to show them that.”
In their first year, state officials report that Fostering Independence Grants served 492 foster youth attending community colleges and four-year universities, with an average of $8,639 paid for housing, tuition and other student needs — a critical addition to financial aid and scholarship funds.
But in the program’s second year, more than 150 additional students were expected to apply, a 31% increase that threatened the state’s ability to meet the need. The grant program has been so successful, its budgeted funding was projected to be depleted by the 2025 spring semester, resulting in the unpopular prospect of waiting lists.
The popularity of college has grown among all Minnesota adults. After 14 years of declining enrollment in postsecondary schools, the National Student Clearinghouse estimates that Minnesota’s undergraduate enrollment started to tick up in the last academic year.
“I would do it all over again to get the outcome we got. Past, present, and future fosters deserve to know that there are people who will, and are, fighting for them.”
— Nia Dyer, former foster youth
Fostering Independence Grants will be rolled out on a first-come, first-served basis for those 27 and younger who had been in foster care at or after age 13. And the influx of $5 million is considered a sufficient sum to avoid lengthy waiting lists for the coming school year.
But relieved youth advocates also warn that the solution in this year’s budget — a transfer of funds from the North Star Promise Scholarship Program for low-income students — is not a permanent plan. Instead, they hope it will buy them some time to lobby the Legislature for an increased budget for the grants going forward.
Foster Advocates, a St. Paul-based nonprofit organization, brought the issue to the attention of lawmakers. In an emailed statement, a representative said members are “thrilled” the budget bill passed and funding for the program known as FIG has been increased for the coming academic year.
“This is a win for Fosters across Minnesota, but the work is not over,” the statement reads. “This is a temporary funding patch for 2024-25, and Foster Advocates is committed to the ongoing partnership with the Office of Higher Education and the legislature to ensure FIG is fully funded past this year.”
Travis Matthews, a former foster youth and contributing writer for this outlet’s sister program, Youth Voices Rising, said he’s happy with the results, as well as the impact Foster Advocates has been able to achieve.
“It’s a significant win for our community and will undoubtedly make a positive impact. This session has been a whirlwind for fosters,” Matthews said in a text message, “but I’m feeling optimistic about the future of our advocacy!”
