The California Chafee Grant Program gives up to $5,000 annually in free money to foster youth and former foster youth to use for vocational school training or college courses. You don’t have to pay it back, and you can use the money for expenses such as childcare, transportation and rent!
Requirements
You must
- Be enrolled in a vocational school or college that is Title IV-eligible.
- Be enrolled at least half time.
- Be enrolled in a program that is at least one academic year.
- Maintain satisfactory academic progress.
To qualify, you must
- Be a current or former foster youth*.
- Not have reached your 26th birthday as of July 1 of the award year.
- Not have participated in the program for more than 5 years (whether or not consecutive).
*To qualify, foster youth dependency of the court must have been established between the ages of 16 and 18. KinGap youth who are or were eligible to receive Independent Living Program services, guardian placements and voluntary placements may not be eligible for the California Chafee Grant unless court dependency was established between the ages of 16 and 18.
To apply, you must
- Complete the California Dream Act or Free Application for Federal Student Aid application for the current academic year.
AND
- Log on to the Commission’s Chafee Grant Program website. There, you can fill out the online application and submit it electronically, or call the Commission and ask for an application.
For more information, please contact the Financial Aid Office.
Keep Up to Date With Your Chafee Grant Status on WebGrants4Students
- To access your WebGrants account, please go to https://mygrantinfo.csac.ca.gov to set up your account.
- Access information and manage your account 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- You can also update your e-mail address, mailing address, telephone number, or school of attendance.
Find out more about the Chafee Grant and Other Services for Foster Youth
You can also visit the following websites: