The New York Bar Foundation and NYSBA Committee Announce Scholarship for Students Aging Out of Foster Care

ALBANY, NY (10/28/2016)(readMedia)-- Albany, NY-The New York Bar Foundation is pleased to announce the establishment of the 2017 Honorable Judith S. Kaye and Children and the Law Committee Scholarship, which has been created through a special project of the Committee on Children and the Law of the New York State Bar Association.

The scholarship partnership aligns the missions of The Foundation, the Children and the Law Committee, and the passion of Judge Kaye.

The scholarship, valued up to $2,500, will be awarded to three students enrolled on a full-time or part-time basis during the 2016-2017 academic year in an accredited undergraduate or post high school certificate program. The scholarship is open to students who will age out or have aged out of foster care in New York state with a permanency goal of Another Planned Permanent Living Arrangement and are enrolled in an accredited undergraduate or post high school certificate program during the 2016-2017 academic year.

Students must be under the age of 26 years. The application deadline is December 5, 2016. Students must demonstrate a school-related financial need beyond tuition that is not being met by other sources.

The Judith S. Kaye Scholarship originally was established by the New York State Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children at the request of the Kaye family to honor her commitment to improving the lives and life chances of the children who come before the New York courts. Judge Kaye chaired the commission for more 25 years, first while she served as an associate judge and later as chief judge of the state Court of Appeals and continuing while of counsel at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

"The reality today is that far too many young people leave foster care without the permanency and support of a stable family or the benefit of an education," Judge Kaye wrote in a Newsday op-ed ("How New York can help its foster children succeed," February 4, 2015). "A quarter experience homelessness within the first few years of leaving foster care, half are unemployed at the age of 24, and one in four will be caught up in the criminal justice system within two years."

The scholarship puts Judge Kaye's words into action. "Every child in our country is entitled to an education sufficient to permit her to lead our great nation through this new century," she said. "We must continue to strive to provide better supports for our children to allow them to succeed – to nurture and help them achieve their dreams and aspirations. Only then will we have met our responsibility of not only keeping our children safe but also encouraging them to thrive and be successful."

In January 2014, Research Highlights on Education and Foster Care reported that "When supported by strong practices and policies, positive school experiences can counteract the negative effects of abuse, neglect, separation, and lack of permanency experienced by the nearly 400,000 U.S. children and youth in foster care. Education not only supports economic success in adult life, it also provides opportunities for improved well-being in physical, intellectual, and social domains during critical developmental periods."

The National Working Group further reported that while the majority of youth in foster care want to go to college (84%), a small percentage of foster youth who graduate from high school attend college (20%) and very few attain a bachelor's degree (2 to 9%).

Source: National Working Group on Foster Care and Education. January 2014. Fostering Success in Education: National Factsheet on the Educational Outcomes of Children in Foster Care. Link: http://www.fc2success.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/National-Fact-Sheet-on-the-Educational-Outcomes-of-Children-in-Foster-Care-Jan-2014.pdf.

For more information about how to apply for the scholarship (or how to make a donation to the scholarship), visit The New York Bar Foundation's website at www.tnybf.org or call (518) 487-5651.

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