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Panel Hears Testimony for Foster-to-College Scholarship Act as Advocates Cite High Housing and Completion Gaps
Summary
Supporters told the House Workforce and Higher Education Committee that House Bill 25 would cover the full cost of attendance and create trauma-informed navigators to help foster youth access aid, arguing existing federal and institutional grants often leave students thousands short of housing and living costs.
Supporters of House Bill 25 told the House Workforce and Higher Education Committee that the measure would remove financial and administrative barriers that keep many foster youth from completing postsecondary education.
Rochelle Toth, president of the Junior League of Columbus and a community outreach engagement manager at Ohio State University, urged lawmakers to back "wrap around services, financial aid covering the full cost of tuition, and a state run navigator program" to improve retention. "Did you know that 50% of our foster care alumni will experience homelessness by age 26 and 70 percent will rely on public assistance?" she told the committee, citing statistics she said underline the bill’s urgency.
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