Educational Supports for Youth in Foster Care - Kentucky

Support for Completing High School

Citation: Admin. Regs. Tit. 922, § 1:340

The child-placing agency shall maintain documentation for each child concerning his or her progress in an educational program, including vocational education.

Planning for Postsecondary Education

Citation: Admin. Reg. Tit. 922, § 1:500

An Education and Training Voucher (ETV) shall be used to assist an eligible individual to prepare for and enter an institution of higher education, including the following:

• A fee for an educational aptitude examination to qualify for or apply to an institution of higher education
• An entrance or application fee required by an institution of higher education
• An enrollment fee or deposit required by an institution of higher education
• Cost of an educational aptitude course to prepare the eligible individual for an examination specified in this subsection
• Any additional expense required for entrance by the institution of higher education

Eligibility Requirements

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 164.2847

A child in foster care or who was adopted from foster care in Kentucky will qualify for a waiver of tuition and fees when the following apply:

• The student's family receives State-funded adoption assistance.
• The student is currently committed to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services under and placed in a family foster home or is placed in accordance with § 605.090(3).
• The student is in an independent-living program and the placement is funded by the cabinet.
• The student who is a child adopted from foster care was in the permanent legal custody of and placed for adoption by the cabinet. A student who meets the eligibility criteria of this paragraph and lives outside of Kentucky at the time of application to a Kentucky postsecondary institution may apply for the waiver up to the amount of tuition for a Kentucky resident.
• The cabinet was the student's legal custodian on his or her 18th birthday.

A child in foster care and involved with the Department of Juvenile Justice child in foster care and involved with the will qualify for a waiver of tuition and fees when the following apply:

• The student has not been sentenced to the department under chapter 640.
• The student has been committed to the department for at least 12 months.
• The student is in an independent-living program and placement is funded by the department.
• The parental rights of the student's parents have been terminated.
• The student was committed to the cabinet prior to a commitment to the department.

The student shall complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid to determine the level of need and eligibility for State and Federal financial aid programs. If the sum of the tuition waiver plus other student financial assistance, except loans and the work study program, from all sources exceeds the student's total cost of attendance, the tuition waiver shall be reduced by the amount exceeding the total cost of attendance.

The student shall be eligible for the tuition waiver for entrance to the institution for no more than 4 years after the date of graduation from high school and for 5 years after first admittance to any Kentucky institution, if satisfactory progress is achieved or maintained.

The expiration of a student's 5-year eligibility shall be extended upon a determination by the institution that the student was unable to enroll for or complete an academic term due to serving with any of the following:

• On active duty status in the U.S. Armed Forces
• As an officer in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service
• On active service in the Peace Corps Act or the AmeriCorps

Financial Supports for Postsecondary Programs

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 164.2847; Admin. Reg. Tit. 922, § 1:500

Tuition and mandatory student fees for any undergraduate program of any Kentucky public postsecondary institution, including all 4-year universities and colleges and institutions of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, shall be waived for a child in foster care in Kentucky or a child who has been adopted from foster care who is a full-time or part-time student if the student meets all entrance requirements and maintains academic eligibility while enrolled at the postsecondary institution and if he or she meets the requirements described above.

Tuition and mandatory student fees for any undergraduate program of any Kentucky public postsecondary institution, including all 4-year universities and colleges and institutions of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, shall be waived for a child in foster care and involved with the Department of Juvenile Justice who is a full-time or part-time student if the student meets all entrance requirements and maintains academic eligibility while enrolled at the postsecondary institution and obtains a recommendation for participation from an official from the Department of Juvenile Justice and if he or she meets the requirements described above.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to do the following:

• Guarantee acceptance of or entrance into any postsecondary institution for a child in foster care or a child who has been adopted from foster care
• Limit the participation of a student in foster care or a student who has been adopted from foster care in any other program of financial assistance for postsecondary education
• Require any postsecondary institution to waive costs or fees relating to room and board
• Restrict any postsecondary institution, the Department of Juvenile Justice, or the Cabinet for Health and Family Services from accessing other sources of financial assistance, except loans, that may be available to a student in foster care or a student who has been adopted from foster care

In regulation: An ETV shall be used to pay for the cost of attendance at an institution of higher education. An ETV shall not exceed the lesser of $5,000 per year or the total cost of attendance per year. To the extent that funds are available, the cabinet shall authorize payment for an application for an ETV to an eligible individual. In accordance with Federal law, an ETV shall not be approved for the same purpose as a tuition waiver or other student financial aid.