BILL SUMMARY
Higher Education Support For Foster Youth (SB 22-008) requires that all public higher education institutions provide Colorado resident students who have been in foster care in Colorado at any time on or after reaching the age of 13, with financial assistance for the remaining balance of the student's total cost of attendance over the amount of any private, state, or federal financial assistance received by the student. These costs are split, with 50% of the cost being covered by the institution and 50% will be covered by the state.
- Eligibility Criteria
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- Placed in foster care (defined in 19-1-103, C.R.S.) in Colorado at any time on or after the student’s 13th birthday; or was in noncertified kinship care (defined in 19-1-103, C.R.S.) at anytime on or after the student’s thirteenth birthday and was, at any time, adjudicated neglected or dependent pursuant to article 3 of title 19
- Attending at a state institution of higher education, local district college, or area technical college
- In their first 132 semester credit hours or 198 quarter credit hours
- Completed FAFSA/CASFA
- Completed application for Chafee Education and Training Voucher (ETV) Grant if eligible
- Enrolled in courses leading toward a certificate of completion, associates, bachelor’s, or postgraduate degree
- Satisfactory academic standing as defined by the institution of attendance
- Note, there is no age limit on this program
- Participating Institutions
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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
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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.
- Fact Sheet
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To access the program fact sheet, click here.
- To Apply
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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
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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
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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.