In a piece for The Conversation, Jacquie Gahagan (Mount Saint Vincent University), Dale Kirby (Memorial University), El Jones (MSVU), and Kristyn Anderson (Dalhousie University) argue that access to postsecondary education is critical to support success for former youth in care. The authors write that the lack of support for youth at key transition points leads to a cycle of poverty, homelessness, and criminalization. They argue that providing youth with access to postsecondary education through supports such as tuition waivers, housing supports, and mentoring would reduce costs associated with incarceration and support resilience and success for former youth in care. “A national commitment to educational equity for youth from care is a sound fiscal strategy and a transformational approach to ensure all youth in Canada can benefit from postsecondary education,” state Gahagan, Kirby, Jones, and Anderson.
