About Us     

"FACE: Fostering Access to College Education" is a registered unincorporated nonprofit association in the State of California. Its purpose is to provide free college admission counseling in San Diego County to youth in out-of-home-care: current and former foster youth, homeless youth, youth in legal guardianship, and youth living with kinship caregivers; and to promote a college-going culture among families caring for youth in out-of-home care.

"FACE: Fostering Access to College Education" was launched in the fall of 2009. The endeavor is a collaborative effort with San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) Foster Youth & Homeless Education Services, and Casey Family Programs. We are pleased to join other community partners in the Youth and Family Transition Center at the Casey Family Programs building in Old Town San Diego for appointments with clients.

If you would like more information on SDCOE Foster Youth & Homeless Education Services, see their webpages: http://www.sdcoe.net/ssp/support/?loc=fys&m=9. For more information on Casey Family Programs, see their website: http://www.casey.org/.

What We Do

We meet with San Diego County youth in foster care (and youth in legal guardianship, youth in kinship care, and homeless youth) and provide guidance as they plan for college enrollment. We host college application and FAFSA filing workshops. We offer college admission information to youth caregivers (including foster, adoptive and kinship parents), and care providers--CASAs (Court Appointed Special Advocates), social workers, school personnel, mentors and group home administrators.

We encourage youth in out-of- home care to begin planning for college early by taking strong academic programs in middle school. In high school, we urge them to take the college-preparatory courses required by the UC and CSU  (the "a-g" classes--see our FAQ page for a description), provide timelines, offer test-taking and essay writing guidance, and assist with the filing of college admission and financial aid applications.

We encourage all of our students to take advantage of school-based resources, including support programs that assist first-generation college-going and low-income students (click on the "Resources for College Admission" tab above for a list of some of these programs, located in the right margin).

Our College Counselor

Joanne Higgins is the founder of "FACE: Fostering Access to College Education" and its College Counselor. 

Joanne has worked as an Admissions Officer at the University of California, San Diego and the University of San Diego; and she was previously the Director of College Guidance at an independent college-preparatory high school. Joanne evaluates college freshman applications each year as an external evaluator. For the upcoming fall 2012 term, she is working for UCLA as an Admissions Reader.  

In addition to three decades of experience in college counseling, Joanne has a Master’s degree in School Counseling and a California State school counseling credential (a Clear Pupil Personnel Services credential). She is a member of NACAC (the National Association of College Admission Counseling) and WACAC (the Western Association of College Admission Counseling).