Financial Help for Foster Youth

Recent changes to the definition of an independent student in the FAFSA make it much easier for students without the support of their birth families to get the help they need to secure financial aid.

Originally created as a guide for financial aid administrators in California community colleges, this excerpt from the Foster Youth Success Initiative Manual, contains valuable information for anyone who helps youth from foster care and unaccompanied homeless youth to secure financial aid for higher education. Although originally intended for financial aid professionals and advocates for these student groups in California, it will be helpful to independent living coordinators, guidance counselors, financial aid counselors, and social workers who are helping youth in every state to finance postsecondary education and training. This publication is not intended for youth themselves, although it lists resources that unaccompanied homeless youth or youth from foster care may find helpful.

The heart of this publication is the detailed discussion of FAFSA questions 55–60, the dependency questions in the 2009–2010 FAFSA. Definitions, reference pages, and case scenarios show administrators how to approach the situations that youth bring to the financial aid office. Legal changes are easier to understand using the reference pages. The life circumstances of foster youth are often complex—but the scenarios included in the report provide guidance on applying applicable law when more complex analysis is required.