今年秋季，至少有45名学生在新斯科舍省开始接受由专门针对曾在政府照护下的学生提供的学费减免资助的高等教育项目。
This fall, at least 45 students started post-secondary programs across Nova Scotia funded by tuition waivers specifically for people who were in government care.
在过去五年里，该省许多高等教育机构开始提供此类学费减免，这是一项旨在改善长期处于不利地位群体教育成果的努力的一部分。
In the last five years, many post-secondary institutions in the province started offering the tuition waivers, part of an effort to change educational outcomes for a group that’s been disadvantaged for decades.
但根据一位研究这些项目效果的研究者的说法，要帮助这一群体的年轻人，仍需做更多工作。
But according to a researcher studying the effect of these programs, much more needs to be done to help this group of young people.
“随着时间推移，我们看到来自照护系统的儿童的教育水平并未提升，”贾姬·加哈根（Jacquie Gahagan）表示。她是大西洋学费减免项目的负责人，也是圣文森特山大学研究副校长。
“As we look over time, we see the educational attainment of kids from care is not improving,” said Jacquie Gahagan, who leads the Atlantic Tuition Waiver project and is associate vice-president of research at Mount Saint Vincent University. Gahagan noted that less than 10 per cent of former youth in care go on to finish post-secondary education.
加哈根指出，曾在照护系统中的青年中，不到10%的人能够完成高等教育。
The researcher also said less that 50 per cent of kids from care in Canada even finish high school, a statistic they described as "a problem.”
该研究者还表示，加拿大来自照护系统的儿童中，不到50%的人甚至能够完成高中学业，他们将这一数据描述为“一个问题”。相比之下，新斯科舍省和加拿大统计局的数据显示，该省整体高中毕业率超过90%。
By comparison, data from the province of Nova Scotia and Statistics Canada show an overall high school graduation rate of over 90 per cent. Tuition waiver programs launched in Atlantic Canada around 2020 and Gahagan saw a chance to study them from inception.
大西洋加拿大地区的学费减免项目大约在2020年启动，加哈根看到了从项目一开始就进行研究的机会。他们发现，学费减免有所帮助，但仍需要更多支持。这包括心理健康支持、导师制，有时还包括食物或住房援助。
They’ve learned waivers help, but more support is required. This includes mental health support, mentoring, and sometimes food or housing assistance. Most tuition waiver programs cover school fees but the student is responsible for added expenses such as room, board, textbooks and laptops.
大多数学费减免项目仅覆盖学费，而学生需自行承担额外费用，如住宿、伙食、教材和笔记本电脑。
Senate examines issue Sen. Wanda Thomas Bernard pushed for the Senate to examine outcomes for youth aging out of care in a national report released in December.
参议院审议该问题 参议员旺达·托马斯·伯纳德（Wanda Thomas Bernard）推动参议院在一份于12月发布的全国性报告中审议离开照护系统青少年的状况。
Decades of experience as a social worker in Nova Scotia taught her that the system of services has a “patchwork” quality where students who do well in school tend to get more support.
她在新斯科舍省担任社会工作者数十年的经验让她认识到，该服务系统具有“零散拼凑”的特点——学习表现好的学生往往能获得更多支持。
“But I thought, well, what about the ones who aren't doing so well? They need that help more than anyone else,” she said in a recent interview.
“但我想，那些处境不好的孩子呢？他们比任何人都更需要这种帮助，”她在最近一次采访中表示。
She believes the child protection and education systems don’t have enough wraparound support to help kids through the trauma of being removed from their family.
她认为，儿童保护和教育系统缺乏足够的全方位支持，来帮助孩子们度过被从家庭中带走所带来的创伤。
She said that trauma often comes out in behaviours at school, and the focus becomes on fixing or controlling the behaviour rather than inquiring about the reason behind it.
她说，这种创伤往往表现为学校里的行为问题，于是重点就变成了矫正或控制行为，而不是去探究背后的原因。
“How do you work with those kids who are difficult to work with?” she said.
“如何与那些难以相处的孩子合作？”她说。“这并不意味着我们要回避他们，而意味着我们需要更加努力地接触他们。”“直接陷入贫困”加哈根认为，联邦层面需要进行改革，包括更好地收集结果数据，并设立全国性的儿童和青年倡导者。
“Doesn't mean we shy away from them. It means we need to work harder to reach them.”'Directly into poverty' Gahagan believes changes at the federal level are needed, including better data collection on outcomes and a national child and youth advocate.
她们还认为，省级层面也需要开展工作，但她们赞扬新斯科舍省实施了“路径计划”，该计划允许曾经处于寄养体系的青年在24岁之前每两周获得一次经济支持。这笔钱可用于任何用途，包括教育。
They also believe work needs to be done at the provincial level, but they credit Nova Scotia for implementing the Path program, which allows former youth in care to receive biweekly financial support up to age 24. The money can be used for any purpose, including education.
新斯科舍省法案旨在延长对寄养体系中年满法定年龄离院青年的支持 关于纽芬兰与拉布拉多省的脱离体系问题，该体系正在“让大量年轻人被抛在后面” 该省在2024年启动“路径计划”之前进行了咨询和研究，并通过信息获取请求在今年早些时候公布了部分工作成果。
N.S. bill aims to extend support for youth in foster care who age out of the system When it comes to aging out in N.L., the system is ‘leaving a lot of young people behind’ The province did consultation and research before starting Path in 2024, and released some of its work through access-to-information requests earlier this year.
简报文件描述了处于寄养体系中的青年往往无法高中毕业，这意味着他们将“直接陷入贫困”。一份2021年的备忘录描述称，在过去10年里，新斯科舍省有730名青年脱离了寄养体系。备忘录称，近60%的人在某个时候寻求过收入援助。
The briefing notes described how youth in care often do not graduate from high school, which means they transition “directly into poverty.”One note written in 2021 described how in the previous 10 years there were 730 youth who aged out of care in Nova Scotia. The note said nearly 60 per cent sought income assistance at some point.
教育稳定性 “路径计划”和高等教育学费减免等项目旨在帮助年满19岁后的年轻人。
Stability for education Programs like Path and post-secondary tuition waivers are meant for young people after they turn 19.
加哈根呼吁，在孩子们仍处于寄养体系期间，应更加关注他们的学业。
Gahagan is calling for more attention to kids’ schooling while they’re still in the care system.
前寄养儿童接受CBC采访时表示，在多个寄养家庭和集体住所之间频繁转移所带来的干扰是一个严重问题。Gahagan表示，他们的研究表明这是一个大问题。
Former kids in care have spoken to CBC about the disruption of bumping between multiple foster care and group home placements. Gahagan said their research shows that’s a big problem.
“你会进入一所新学校。你会有新的同伴群体，你正在努力赶上你错过的内容，”他们说。
“You start in a new school. You have a new peer group, you're trying to catch up on what you missed out on,” they said.
“这意味着我们没有把重点放在教育成就上，而是把重点放在根据安置需求来转移这个人。”机遇与社会发展部儿童与家庭福祉执行主任Jill Barkhouse表示，孩子的学校经历在其发展中“至关重要”。她说，她的部门正与教育系统合作，共享信息并尽力帮助孩子们取得成功。
“That means we're not focusing on educational attainment, we're focusing on moving this person as needed for placements.”Jill Barkhouse, the Department of Opportunities and Social Development’s executive director of child and family well-being, said a child’s school experience is “crucial” in their development. She said her department works with the education system to share information and try to help kids succeed.
她说，一个例子是与教育和幼儿发展部共享的专职顾问角色，旨在帮助孩子们顺利过渡到不同学校。
She said an example of this is a dedicated consultant role that’s shared with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development to help kids make the transition between schools.
Gahagan表示，曾经接受寄养的青年常常对教育产生羞耻感或个人失败感。但Gahagan并不这么认为。
Gahagan said former youth in care often express a sense of embarrassment or personal failure about education. But Gahagan does not see it that way.
“这只是一个更大问题的症状，也就是说：我们没有关注寄养儿童的教育成就。而我们应该这样做。”在这个名为《被遗忘的》系列报道中，
“This is a symptom of a bigger problem, which is to say: we're not focusing on the educational attainment of kids in care. And we should be doing that.”In this series called “Left Behind,”