Heart Gallery of Lane County - A Family for Every Child

Ways for foster Children to get money for
college

There are many ways for foster kids to get money for college. One is the traditional
method of filling out a FAFSA.(financial aid form). In addition, you can be considered an Independent student (meaning that your parents are not supporting you which allows you to get more Financial Aid assistance than most students) if you had one day of substitute care after the age of 13.

In addition funds are available through the Chafee Program which is a Federal Program set up for kids who were in foster care that want to go to college. Every state gets "Chafee" funding. According to Rosemary Lavenditti and she said that a child is qualified if they meet the following criteria:

You may be eligible for funding of up to $5000 per year while you are in college or
a vocational or technical training program!

You may qualify if:

1.You are 18, 19 or 20 years old.

2.You are in foster care or you were in foster care as a teenager and you are a US
citizen or qualified non-citizen 3.You aged out of the foster care system at age 18 or
were adopted from foster care with adoption finalization after your 16th birthday.

3.You have been accepted into or are enrolled in a degree, certificate or other
program at a college, university, technical or vocational school and you show progress towards that degree or certificate.

To find out more about the specific eligibility requirements for your state, contact
your caseworker or:

Rosemary Lavenditti
Independent Living Program Coordinator
SCF - Independent Living Program, E76
500 Summer Street NE
Salem, OR 97301-1069

Phone: 503-945-5688
Fax: 503-945-6969
rosemary.lavenditti@state.or.us