ABOUT
The Blavin Bettin Scholars Program at NAU is a scholarship and wraparound support community for students who have experienced foster care, legal guardianship, ward of court status, emancipation, or unaccompanied homelessness.
Scholars receive an annual scholarship, professional staff mentors, free individual tutoring and counseling, academic and life‑skills workshops, service‑learning opportunities, and regular social activities, along with help connecting to campus and community resources.
The program expects and supports active engagement—meeting with staff each semester and participating in events—so students are surrounded by a consistent network while pursuing their bachelor’s degree.
CONTACT
Location: Room 241 Building 30, University Union Fieldhouse
Phone: 928-523-0624
Email: blavinbettinscholars@nau.edu
The Blavin Bettin Scholars Program- Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ
Fostering Success- University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ
ABOUT
Fostering Success at the University of Arizona is a campus program focused on building community for students who have experienced foster care (SEFC), housing insecurity, or homelessness, and helping them feel at home at UA.
It offers peer and staff connection, referrals to academic and financial supports, and a welcoming space where students with these experiences can find others who “get it” and access the resources they need to thrive in college.
CONTACT
Location: 1303 E. University Blvd, Office 323C
Education & Training Voucher (ETV) Program managed by:
Most students who are in foster care, aged out of foster care or were adopted from foster care after reaching age 13 should qualifiy for a full Pell Grant after filling out the Free Applications for Federal Student Aid. The amount of aid a student can receive depends on financial need, the cost of attendance at your school, and other factors.
The Arizona Tuition Waiver is available to youth who were in foster care after their 14th birthday. This waiver covers costs after the Pell Grant is applied. To obtain this waiver, you can contact the financial aid office of the Arizona university or college the student plans to attend.
The Arizona Tuition Waiver
CONTACT INFORMATION
ACE Scholar Services – California State University San Marcos
San Marcos, CA
ABOUT
ACE Scholar Services at CSUSM is a comprehensive, top‑tier campus program supporting students with experience in foster care (SEFC), designed to transform lives through higher education rather than extend the foster care system itself.
ACE provides intensive academic advising, case management, specialized workshops, THP+FC housing access, and strong career support, all focused on improving matriculation, persistence, graduation, and long‑term career success for SEFC and independent students.
CONTACT
Phone: 760‑750‑4223
Email: ACE@csusm.edu
Website: https://www.csusm.edu/ace/
California Promise Program
Multiple campuses across the California State University system, CA
ABOUT
The California Promise Program is a CSU‑wide initiative offered at multiple campuses that gives first‑time, full‑time undergraduates a clear pathway to finish in two years (for A.A.–to–B.A. transfers) or four years (for freshmen), including priority registration and enhanced advising.
For SEFC and students with independent status, California Promise can be layered with tuition support to create a more predictable, supported path to an on‑time degree across the CSU system
CONTACT
Seawolf Scholars – Sonoma State University
Rohnert Park, CA
ABOUT
Seawolf Scholars at Sonoma State University is a campus support and community‑building program for current and former foster youth (SEFC), kinship/guardianship care, emancipated minors, and unaccompanied homeless students.
Housed within the Center for Academic Access & Student Enrichment, it offers advocacy, academic support, resource navigation, and social programming, helping students verify foster status, connect with campus services, and find a welcoming peer community.
CONTACT
Location: 1st Floor University Library
Phone: 7076643891
Email: seawolfscholars@sonoma.edu
Website: https://seawolfscholars.sonoma.edu/
Resilient Scholar Program– UC Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, CA
ABOUT
The Resilient Scholar Program/ Hope Scholars, is designed for students with any current or former experience in foster care or the child welfare system, including group homes, transitional housing, legal guardianship, kinship care, and probation/AB 12 placements.
The program provides academic and personal guidance, basic needs and housing support (including early move‑in and emergency break housing), financial help for textbooks, technology, food, and health care co‑pays, and one‑on‑one mentoring from peer and professional staff.
It also creates a welcoming peer community and clearly marked physical space in the Bay Tree Campus Store where students can connect, receive support, and be reminded that their experiences matter and they belong at UCSC.
CONTACT
Location: Academic Resource Center 121
Phone: (831) 459-5899
Email: rsp@ucsc.edu
Website: https://belong.ucsc.edu/system-impacted/foster-youth/
Berkeley Hope Scholars- UC Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
ABOUT
Berkeley Hope Scholars is UC Berkeley’s academic retention program for current and former foster youth (SEFC), probation foster youth, and students with experience in care before age 18, serving freshmen, transfers, graduate, and continuing students.
As part of CE3, it focuses on creating a safe, welcoming community and providing intensive academic, financial, and personal support so students with child welfare experience can persist and graduate.
CONTACT
Location: 109 Cesar Chavez Student Center
Phone: (510) 664-7187
Email: bhs@berkeley.edu
Website: https://hope.berkeley.edu/home
Horizon Scholars – Pepperdine University
All 5 Campuses, CA
ABOUT
Horizon Scholars at Pepperdine supports current and former foster youth students across all five Pepperdine schools, providing scholarships, emergency funds, and holistic services that encourage self‑reliance, social responsibility, and emotional healing.
The program offers a safe community space, mentoring, and strategies for resilience and spiritual wellness, aiming to ensure students leave Pepperdine with both a degree and strengthened overall well‑being.
CONTACT
Deborah Armstrong
Location: 24255 Pacific Coast Highway
Phone: 310.506.7107
Email: horizonscholars@pepperdine.edu
Website: https://www.pepperdine.edu/admission/financialaid/horizon-scholars/
Resilient Scholars – Imperial Valley College
Imperial, CA
ABOUT
Resilient Scholars at Imperial Valley College is a holistic case-management program for students ages 16–24 (up to 26 on a case‑by‑case basis) who have experienced foster care (SEFC) or homelessness, built to support both academic progress and basic needs.
The program offers counseling, supportive case management, emergency assistance and supplies (as funding allows), book assistance, workshops, peer mentoring, tutoring, and referrals to community programs, giving students a single, consistent hub for help as they move through college.
CONTACT
Location: Building 4800
Phone: (760) 355-5711
Email: equity@imperial.edu
Website: https://www.imperial.edu/students/resilient-scholars/
SCI*FI Foster Youth Program – Shasta College
Redding, CA
ABOUT
SCI*FI is an educational support program for college students who are current or former foster youth. Educational guidance, personalized student support, and a student study lounge help students succeed in their coursework and develop the skills needed to foster a stable transition into independence.
CONTACT
Leticia Castillo-Ramos
Location: Main Redding Campus- Room 2012A
Phone:(530) 242-7556
Email: info@shastacollege.edu
Website: https://www.shastacollege.edu/student-resources/student-services/sci-fi-foster-youth-program/
The Chafee Education and Training Voucher (ETV) program provides resources to meet the education and training needs of eligible current or former foster youth aged 16-21. The Chafee ETV program offers up to $5,000 per year for post-secondary education and training to assist youth with gaining skills needed to lead independent and productive lives.
Education & Training Voucher (ETV) Program
CONTACT INFORMATION
Phone: (916) 651-7465
Email: CFSChafeeETV@dss.ca.gov
Website: https://cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/foster-care/chafee-education-and-training-vouchers-program
Apprenticeship Program:
Apprenticeship Pathways Project
The Apprenticeship Pathways Project is an initiative aimed at creating a clear pathway for foster youth, former foster youth, and homeless youth ages 16 to 26 in California to access and complete apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships. The project collaborates with the Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) and chairs the Interagency Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships Homeless & Foster Youth Subcommittee. Its goals include increasing the number of apprentices by providing paid apprenticeships for youth aged 16 to 26 who are foster youth, former foster youth, or homeless.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Korena Hazen, Project Manager
Phone: (916) 651-7465
Email: ApprenticeshipPathways@dss.ca.gov
Website: https://cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/cdss-programs/foster-care/apprenticeship-pathways
Apprenticeship Program:
Better Youth
This apprenticeship supports young adults ages 18–24 who are pursuing careers in the creative economy, with a focus on youth impacted by foster care and the child welfare system. Registered at the state and federal levels since October 2022, the program was developed with industry experts, employers, and community partners. Apprentices combine paid, on-the-job training with career-focused academic instruction to build skills and pathways to success in creative fields.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Phone: 800-357-2535
Email: contact@betteryouth.org
No on-campus specific programs able to be identified at this time.
If you would like your program added, please contact us at nrc.fahe@gmail.com
Higher Education Stipend
To help meet living expenses while attending an accredited academic or vocational institution of higher learning. Benefits of $776 per month may be provided for up to 60 months from age 18 until age 27.
Education & Training Voucher (ETV) Program
The Chafee Education and Training Voucher (ETV) program provides resources to meet the education and training needs of eligible current or former foster youth aged 16-25. The Chafee ETV program offers up to $5,000 per year for post-secondary education and training to assist youth with gaining skills needed to lead independent and productive lives.
Fostering Scholars- UNLV
Las Vegas, NV
ABOUT
UNLV Fostering Scholars is a campus-based support network for students who have experienced foster care (SEFC), built to help you navigate both your transition to independence and your transition into college at the same time.
Actively participating students receive personalized success coaching, textbook assistance, access to UNLV’s Basic Needs Program without standard limits, emergency financial aid, involvement scholarships, and workshops and community events focused on connection, academic success, and resource navigation.
To keep that support consistent, participants meet with their success coach each semester, attend at least one workshop and one social event, and stay engaged with partner programs, creating an ongoing community and safety net as they work toward their degrees.
CONTACT
Location: SU 309
Phone: 702-895-3011
Email: fosteringscholars@unlv.edu
Website: https://www.unlv.edu/student-affairs/units/student-support-advocacy/fostering-scholars
Fostering College Success- TMCC
Reno, NV
ABOUT
The Fostering College Success (FCS) Program is designed for students who have experienced foster care at some time in their lives.
The program is made possible by the Walter S. Johnson Foundation and is completely free for program participants.
The FCS Program assists students while attending Truckee Meadows Community College with wraparound services.
The program supports students so they may achieve their goals of obtaining a degree or certificate while attending TMCC.
This program is designed to be student-centered and is focused on supporting students from the beginning of their higher education to graduation.
CONTACT
Ricardo Rubalcaba Paredes
Location: RDMT 114
Phone: 775-673-7131
Email: rrubalcabaparedes@tmcc.edu
Website: https://www.tmcc.edu/campus-connections/fostering-college-success
The Nevada Board of Regents provides a waiver of certain undergraduate fees for qualifying students who have been in the custody of an agency which provides child welfare services in Nevada. An NSHE institution may waive base course registration fees and certain laboratory fees in the fall and spring semesters, for qualifying students, pursuant to Title 4, Chapter 17 of the Handbook.
Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) Foster Youth Fee Waiver
CONTACT INFORMATION
Education & Training Voucher (ETV) Program
Nevada’s Education and Training Vouchers (ETV) Program, operated by The Children’s Cabinet and Clark County Social Service (CCSS), provides financial assistance for postsecondary training and education to youth who have aged out of foster care or who have left foster care after age 16 through kinship, guardianship, or adoption in Nevada.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Stacey Holland, LSW
Clark County ETV Coordinator
Phone: 702.279.0818
Email:ETV@ClarkCountyNV.gov