Denton, Texas — The University of North Texas (UNT) Foundation has been awarded a $1.1 million M-Pact Fund grant from the Moody Foundation, aimed at enhancing educational opportunities for students with foster care experience across Texas.
The grant will be managed by UNT in collaboration with Education Reach for Texans, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving post-secondary education outcomes for students who have experienced foster care. The partnership will focus on providing professional development, training, and technical assistance to foster care liaisons and support programs throughout the state.
This initiative will bolster Education Reach for Texans’ statewide efforts, particularly in coordination with UNT’s Persevere UNTil Success Happens (PUSH) program. PUSH offers comprehensive support for UNT students who have experienced foster care or homelessness, covering areas such as academics, financial literacy, career readiness, and social well-being. In addition to UNT, the program will extend its reach to six other Texas institutions, aiming to assist foster care students in accessing, persisting through, and graduating from higher education.
“This grant supports our combined efforts to improve outcomes for our students who have experience living in foster care,” said Elizabeth With, senior vice president for the Division of Student Affairs at UNT.
In Texas, only 3% of students with foster care experience graduate with a degree, despite a state-provided college tuition and fee waiver. UNT and Education Reach for Texans plan to investigate why 40% of eligible students do not take advantage of this waiver and to develop strategies to increase its usage.
The grant will also fund a new peer mentoring program, operated by UNT, which will employ and train foster care students from various campuses across Texas to mentor younger students. The initiative aims to increase both the usage of the Texas Tuition and Fee Waiver and engagement with campus support programs.
Sheila Bustillos, co-founder of Education Reach for Texans and director of UNT’s Student Services Assessment, emphasized the significance of the grant, stating that it will enable the organization to move from an all-volunteer board to having dedicated staff focused on increasing student success rates.
The Moody Foundation’s M-Pact Fund is part of a larger commitment of $1 billion over 20 years to support Texas education. This grant will not only provide financial support but also foster collaboration among grantees, with the first annual convening of the network scheduled for 2025.
UNT, a Tier One research university and a Hispanic- and Minority-Serving Institution, continues to be a leader in educational innovation and community support, serving nearly 47,000 students and contributing significantly to the state’s economy.