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FosterEd

FosterEd

In 2022, legislators passed SB 22-008 which created a program to provide higher education tuition assistance to foster students.  FosterEd provides free tuition to current and former foster students at all of Colorado’s public colleges and universities. Colorado has allocated more than $2.5 million to aid foster students in their postsecondary journey. The program assists students with the cost of attendance if they experienced out-of-home placement after age 13.

Eligibility Criteria

• Current Colorado resident;

• In foster care from age 13+ in Colorado or in non-certified kinship care from age 13+ in Colorado and was, at any time, adjudicated neglected or dependent pursuant to Article 3 of Title 19;

• Attending a state public institution of higher education, local district college, or area technical college;

• Enrolled in courses leading toward a certificate of completion, associate, bachelor’s, or postgraduate degree and in satisfactory academic standing as defined by the institution of attendance;

• In your first 132 semester credit hours or 198 quarter credit hours;

• Completed the FAFSA or CASFA; and

• Completed the Education and Training Voucher (ETV) application, if eligible

• Please note, there is no age limit on this program.

Participating Institutions

4-Year Public Institutions

Adams State University

Colorado Mesa University

Colorado School of Mines

Colorado State University

Colorado State University – Pueblo

Colorado State University - Global Campus

Fort Lewis College

Metropolitan State University of Denver

University of Colorado - Boulder

University of Colorado – Colorado Springs

University of Colorado - Denver

University of Northern Colorado

Western Colorado University

 

Colorado Community College System

Arapahoe Community College

Colorado Northwestern Community College

Community College of Aurora

Community College of Denver

Front Range Community College

Lamar Community College

Morgan Community College

Northeastern Junior College

Otero College

Pikes Peak State College

Pueblo Community College

Red Rocks Community College

Trinidad State Colleges

 

Local District Colleges

Colorado Mountain College

Aims Community College

 

Area Technical Colleges

Emily Griffith Technical College

Technical College of the Rockies

Pickens Technical College

Cost of Attendance

What costs does this program cover?

§This program covers the full cost of attendance at eligible Colorado institutions. The full cost of attendance varies from institution to institution but will cover full tuition, fees, reasonable living expenses (on and off campus), books, and other expenses. Examples of costs covered may include supplies, housing, food, local transportation, limited personal expenses, childcare where relevant, a computer allowance and medical insurance. Please reach out to your institution’s financial aid office for more information.

 

Resources

Foster Care Student Navigator Map

FosterEd Fact Sheet

ETV and FosterEd Glossary of Terms

ETV and FosterEd FAQs 

ETV and FosterEd Presentation

Communications Toolkit

To Apply

Students need to contact their institution of choice’s financial aid office directly.

Students must provide proof of foster care eligibility on a court affidavit or the Confirmation of Foster Care Experience form from the child welfare database. If a student does not have one of those forms, they should contact the County in which they experienced foster care. This may include their caseworker, Chafee worker, or contacting the county’s Department of Human Services (DHS) to request this documentation.

You can find your Colorado county’s DHS contact information here.

Institution Designation Information

 

Under C.R.S. 23-3.3-140. Each institution is required to designate one employee as a liaison to serve as a direct point of contact with the institution for qualifying students and prospective qualifying students. The liaison may have other duties unrelated to work as the liaison. The liaison shall provide qualifying students and prospective qualifying students with information regarding application assistance, financial assistance, support services, and other resources and assistance available to qualifying students and prospective qualifying students.

Each institution will provide the foster care student navigators described in subsection of this section with the contact information for the liaison. 

Institution Liaison Directory - Coming Soon!

Institution Liaison Designation Form (input your institution liaison information here)

Toolkit - Coming Soon!

Questions

Please reach out to your foster care navigator for guidance on filing out the application.

For questions, students, please contact fcnavigator@dhe.state.co.us to get connected to your foster care navigator.

For questions, IHE financial aid directors, please contact fosterfinaid@dhe.state.co.us.