State Tuition Waiver Programs and
Education Training Vouchers for
Youth in Foster Care
23 states currently have tuition waivers in place for youth who are in or were currently in foster care to be exempt from paying tuition related
expenses at state universities. In some states this may only apply to community colleges, four year state universities or for undergraduate
education. Please review each state website to clearly see the eligibility rules for your particular state. The 23 state are: Alaska, Arizona,
Connecticut*, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina,
Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island*, South Carolina*, Texas, Utah, Virginia*, and West Virginia. (*These 4 states refer to their program as different
than a tuition waiver, but these programs still cover tuition expenses).
In 31 states, youth may stay in care upon their own voluntarily consent until age 21, depending upon each state’s eligibility criteria. States that
use state general funds to pay for these expenses include: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Washington District of Columbia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
22 States are also currently receiving federal funds to allow youth who meet certain eligibility requirements stay in care until age 21. These states
are: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana*, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New
York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Washington District of Columbia and West Virginia. (Indiana only
allows youth to stay in care until age 20). To be eligible for extension until age 21, the students must meet one of the following four criteria: be in
a program completing high school or a general equivalency diploma (GED), be attending postsecondary education, be in a job training program,
be completing 40 hours of employment, or be deemed unable to participate in a job training program.
Please see the information below for some brief guidelines about each state’s program. For further information about either the Educational
Training Voucher or the state’s tuition waiver program, please refer to the website links and contact the state’s Independent Living Coordinator.
The information for each state’s independent living coordinator is available on the federally funded website: www.nrcyd.ou.edu.
The pink highlighted states: These 7 states are currently receiving federal funding for youth up to age 21, have a tuition waiver and also provide
Educational Training Vouchers: Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Texas, and West Virginia.
Light green highlighted states: These 8 states are currently using state general funds to pay for youth to stay in care until age 21, the state has a
tuition waiver program and provides Educational Training Vouchers. These states could benefit from applying for the federal reimbursement for
youth that qualify up to age 21: Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Nevada, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Utah, and Virginia.
State Tuition Waiver Programs & ETV for Youth in Foster Care
State
State
Funded
Care From
Age 18-21
Federal
Funded
Care Up
To Age
21
Tuition Waiver for Foster Youth
Information
Alabama
Yes
Yes
N/A
Alaska
No
No
http://dhss.alaska.gov/ocs/Pages/independentliv
ing/etv.aspx
http://dhss.alaska.gov/ocs/Pages/independentliving/etv.as
px
Arizona
No
No
http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inD
oc=/legtext/51leg/1r/bills/sb1208h.htm&Session
_ID=110
http://www.fc2sprograms.org/arizona/
Arkansas
Yes
Yes
N/A
http://humanservices.arkansas.gov/dcfs/Pages/dcfsService
s.aspx
California
Yes
Yes
N/A
https://www.chafee.csac.ca.gov
Colorado
No
No
N/A
http://www.fc2sprograms.org/colorado/
Connecticut
Yes
Yes
http://www.ctfosteradopt.com/fosteradopt/cwp
/view.asp?a=3795&Q=447946#CAPSCEA (follow
link “College Assistance/Post-Secondary
Education Assistance”)
http://www.ctfosteradopt.com/fosteradopt/cwp/view.asp
?a=3795&Q=447946#CAPSCEA (follow link “College
Assistance/Post-Secondary Education Assistance”)
Delaware
No
No
N/A
http://courts.delaware.gov/cprb/scholarship/etv.aspx
http://courts.delaware.gov/cprb/scholarship/app-
process.aspx
Florida
Yes
No
http://www.myflfamilies.com/service-
programs/independent-living/tuition--fee-
exemptions
http://www.centerforchildwelfare.org/kb/indliv/Trans
itional%20Support%20Eligibility%20and%20ETV%20A
pplication.pdf
State
State
Funded
Care From
Age 18-21
Federal
Funded
Care Up
To Age
21
Tuition Waiver for Foster Youth
Information
ETV for Foster Youth Information
Georgia
Yes
No
N/A
https://embarkgeorgia.org/etv
Hawaii
Yes
Yes
N/A
https://shakatown.com/youth/education?page=finan
cial_help
Idaho
No
No
N/A
http://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/Portals/0/Childre
n/AdoptionFoster/ETVDescription.pdf
Illinois
Yes
Yes
N/A
Indiana
Yes
Yes
N/A
Iowa
No
No
N/A
https://www.iowacollegeaid.gov/content/education-
and-training-voucher-etv-grant
Kansas
No
No
http://www.kansasregents.org/resources/PD
F/641-
2010FosterCareWaiverApp8AFCEdassistance
application.pdf
State
State
Funded
Care From
Age 18-21
Federal
Funded
Care Up
To Age
21
Tuition Waiver for Foster Youth
Information
Kentucky
Yes
No
http://chfs.ky.gov/dcbs/dpp/IndLivingEducati
onAssistance.htm
Louisiana
No
No
N/A
Maine
Yes
Yes
https://www1.maine.gov/dhhs/ocfs/cw/post.
htm
Maryland
Yes
Yes
http://www.mhec.state.md.us/financialaid/P
rogramDescriptions/prog_fostercare.asp
Massachusetts
Yes
Yes
http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departmen
ts/dcf/adolescent/education-tuition/tuition-
assistance.html
Michigan
Yes
Yes
N/A
Minnesota
Yes
Yes
http://www.mnscu.edu/board/procedure/51
2p2.html
Mississippi
No
No
N/A
Missouri
No
No
http://dss.mo.gov/cd/chafee/missouri-
reach.htm
Montana
No
No
N/A
Nebraska
Yes
Yes
N/A
State
State
Funded
Care From
Age 18-21
Federal
Funded
Care Up
To Age
21
Tuition Waiver for Foster Youth
Information
Nevada
No
No
N/A
New
Hampshire
No
No
http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dcyf/documents/tuitio
nwaiver.pdf
New Jersey
Yes
No
http://www.fafsonline.org/njfc-scholars-
program.html
New Mexico
No
No
N/A
New York
Yes
Yes
N/A
North Carolina
Yes
No
http://www.ncreach.org/faq/
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dss/links/index.html#etv
North Dakota
Yes
Yes
N/A
Ohio
No
No
N/A
Oklahoma
No
No
http://www.okdhs.org/library/policy/
oac340/075/
http://oksa.ou.edu/resources/Education
Oregon
Yes
Yes
http://www.oregonstudentaid.gov/grants-
doc/TuitionWaiverQuickFacts.pdf
State
State
Funded
Care From
Age 18-21
Federal
Funded
Care Up
To Age
21
Tuition Waiver for Foster Youth
Information
Pennsylvania
Yes
Yes
N/A
Rhode Island
No
No
http://www.dcyf.ri.gov/docs/postsecondary_
tuition_assistance_program_faq20140114.p
df
South Carolina
No
No
http://www.che.sc.gov/CHE_Docs/studentse
rvices/needbased/q_and_a_for_nbg.pdf
South Dakota
No
No
N/A
Tennessee
Yes
Yes
N/A
Texas
Yes
Yes
https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Child_Protectio
n/Youth_and_Young_Adults/Post_Secondary
_Education/college_tuition_waiver.asp
Utah
No
No
http://le.utah.gov/~2000/bills/hbillamd/HB0
193.pdf
https://jobs.utah.gov/services/360-etv.pdf
Vermont
No
No
N/A
State
State
Funded
Care From
Age 18-21
Federal
Funded
Care Up
To Age
21
Tuition Waiver for Foster Youth
Information
Virginia
No
No
http://cdn.vccs.edu/wp-
content/uploads/2013/07/vatutiongrantflyer
.pdf
http://www.dss.virginia.gov/family/fc/indepe
ndent.cgi
https://www.dss.virginia.gov/files/division/dfs/youth
_services/intro_page/educational_opportunities/etv/
faq/faq.pdf
Washington
Yes
Yes
N/A
Washington
District of
Columbia
Yes
Yes
N/A
West Virginia
Yes
Yes
http://www.itsmymove.org/MyFuture.php
http://www.itsmymove.org/chafee.php
Wisconsin
Yes
No
N/A
Wyoming
No
No
N/A
*
Federal extension information provided by The Children's Bureau Up to Age 20
This information was compiled by Liliana Hernandez, Angelique Day, and Shantel Crosby.
Spreadsheet updated April 12th, 2016