American Dream Program
Reflecting our commitment to education for young people as the route toward independence in adulthood, in 1997 SVS launched our signature educational initiative-the American Dream Program - to ensure that when our youth leave us, they do so with marketable skills that will enable them to secure meaningful employment and compete in today's competitive global economy. ADP fulfills this ambitious goal by providing tuition assistance and room and board, as well as support for tutoring, counseling, health care, and other incidental expenses through graduation from an institution of postsecondary learning-even past age 21, when all government aid ceases. Funded entirely through private donations, the ADP ensures that all young people who are accepted into a program of higher education (including college, technology or trade programs, vocational training, etc.) will be able to attend their chosen institution until they graduate. Since our young people overwhelmingly lack the supports and "safety nets" of a child who has grown up in a traditional family structure, it goes without saying that without this crucial source of support their goals of higher education and self-sufficiency would truly be little more than a dream.
Through ADP we provide the types of support needed by our young people-many of whom are facing considerable challenges from life in the foster care system-in order to attain long-term academic accomplishment. Many children come to SVS well behind grade level in school. As a result, they often begin college at 19 or 20 with a GED rather than a high school diploma, and are therefore required to take remedial classes. Our extended support ensures that they catch up to their peers and thrive in the college or vocational school of their choice.
So far more than 70 SVS youth have benefited from the unique program, which is completely supported by private funds. These young people's lives could have taken radically different paths-most likely to low-wage, unfulfilling work, underemployment, or even unemployment-without the generosity of our committed supporters, who are truly making the world a more hopeful place through their support of the American Dream Program.
SVS American Dream graduates are alumni of our nation's most prestigious schools, including Harvard, Polytechnic University, and Amherst, among others. While some ADP alumni have gone on to become doctors, attorneys, accountants, scientists, and other professionals, others have become chefs or service technicians, studying at schools such as the Culinary Institute of America and New York City Technology College while sustaining full- and part-time employment.
American Dream Youth Excel
Compared to other foster care youth, SVS American Dream graduates:
- Have more education
- Are more likely to be in school currently; and have taken out fewer loans to make this possible
- Are less likely to have ever been homeless
- Work more hours, earn higher wages, have more benefits, and when unemployed are more likely to want and look for work
- Are more likely to have both medical and dental insurance
- Are less likely to be dependent on Medicaid
- Are more likely to own their own homes
- Are more likely to have savings and/or checking accounts
- Are generally more satisfied and more optimistic about the future.
