The Department of Social Services Tuition Waiver for Foster Care Children is designed to provide financial support for higher education to foster children in state custody who were neither adopted nor returned home. It is believed that these children have few support systems and significant needs. Without the benefit of parental support, foster children, whose lives are filled with numerous obstacles, face the additional challenge of financing their education when they enroll as students in higher education institutions. While foster care children qualify for financial aid, many face the burden of acquiring student loans to meet their educational costs. The DSS Tuition Waiver for Foster Care Children provides a valuable resource for them and will help reduce their educational loan debt.

To be eligible for a DSS Tuition Waiver for Foster Care Children, a student must:

• Be a current or former foster child who was placed in the custody of the state through a Care and Protection Petition.
• Be twenty-four years of age or under
.
• Have been in the custody of the Commonwealth for at least twelve consecutive months.
• Not have been adopted nor returned home.
• Be a United States citizen or eligible non-citizen.
• Maintain full-time enrollment.
• Be in compliance with applicable laws regarding Selective Service Registration.
• Not be in default of any Federal or State loans or owe a refund for any previous financial aid received.
• Not have received a prior bachelor's degree or its equivalent.

Any state-supported course offered by an institution at a public college or university, excluding all graduate courses and courses in the MD program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Eligible courses include those toward an undergraduate degree program, certificate program, short-term certificate program, and non-credit courses. Institutions are encouraged to develop waiver programs for eligible students that would provide a 50% tuition waiver for any non-state supported course and/or certificate programs.

An institution within the system of public higher education under Section 5 of Chapter 15A of the General Laws.

Students eligible for the DSS Foster Care Children Tuition Waiver program are entitled to a tuition waiver equal to 100% of the resident tuition rate for eligible state-supported courses offered at the participating public higher education institution.

Contact the financial aid office at the institution you are attending or plan to attend for application requirements or deadlines. You can also call the Massachusetts Office of Student Financial Assistance at (617) 727-9420 to obtain more information.