By Amanda Estes
Staff Writer
    As a parent to two college students, David Unger knows about the challenges Maine youth face when applying for college. As the executive director of the National Scholarship Fund (NSF), he also knows that youth transitioning out of Maine’s foster care system are up against unique challenges.
    “The average child in foster care has 10 different households,” he said during an interview last Friday. “A lot don’t even graduate from high school.”
    NSF is a new non-profit organization, located in Scarborough, which will provide “non-traditional” scholarships for kids who have grown up without the traditional family structure.
    Without the family support, Unger said kids coming out of foster care might not even consider furthering their education. For the kids that are able to go on to college, the challenges don’t end once they enter their dorm.
    “Who do you call at 2 a.m. freshman year when everything seems to be falling apart?” He said these days it is hard enough just to get through a normal college day.
    Unger said the organization will raise money through individual donors, foundations and grants and will potentially distribute as much as $5,000 per student per year. The maximum amount distributed to a student over a four-year period would be $20,000. 
    In offering non-traditional scholarships, Unger said the organization would be able to work with each applicant to meet their specific needs. He said they recognize that with each potential student comes a different story and a different situation.
    He said the program would also provide youth mentoring programs in which kids will be matched up with a youth liaison, which would play the role of a peer rather than a caseworker. He said he would like to see the organization implement such programs as early as fifth grade.
    Unger said NSF works in cooperation with such programs as Casey Family Services and the Muskie School of Public Policy to an extent, but NSF will not duplicate their services. 
    Dan Despard, Acting Director of Child Welfare Services for Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services, said the state has more recently begun conducting transition needs assessments at the age of 16. He said they determine whether the youth will have a future connection to a family, whether they are on the right track in their education, and whether they will access to health care services.
    “We look at what are those needs before it’s the eleventh hour so to speak and what are those needs before they transition,” he said.
    Despard said Maine is one of few states that provide care to foster care youth after they turn 18. Through a voluntary care agreement, the state continues to provide such services as room and board, educational training and vocational training until 21 years of age. He said the state is currently providing tuition and room and board for 102 individuals in the program, who are attending college. In addition, there are 30 tuition waiver slots available per year for former foster youth to attend any branch in the University of Maine system.
    Unger estimates there are roughly 300 young adults coming out of foster care each year who could benefit from more scholarship opportunities. He said NSF has created a model to connect foster care youth with these opportunities today so they may break the cycle for future generations.
    NSF will hold its Debut Event on Wed. May 16 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Abromson Center on the USM campus in Portland. As attendants learn more about the organization, they can enjoy hors d’ouerves and a performance by the Deering High School Jazz Combo. A minimum donation of $15 is appreciated.
    For more information or to RSVP, contact David Unger at 510-7502 or via email at info@nationalscholarshipfund.org.