California Student Aid Commission Chafee Grant for Former

California Student Aid Commission Chafee Grant for Former Foster Youth August 2017 Webinar

California Student Aid Commission Chafee Workgroup �Operational updates �Provide payment updates �Maximize limited amount of funding �Forum for suggestions, questions and/or concerns �Identify issues and ways to streamline the process 2 Making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians.

California Student Aid Commission Chafee Grant Overview � Administered by the Commission through an interagency agreement with the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) � Assists foster youth to help pay for college or career/technical training � Maximum award amount $5, 000 per academic year � Federal and State funded grant subject to annual availability of funds 3 Making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians.

California Student Aid Commission Student Eligibility To apply, students must meet the following criteria: � Be a current or former foster youth who was a dependent or ward of the court, living in foster care, between the ages of 16 and 18 � Youth who are/were in Kin-GAP, a non-related legal guardianship or were adopted, are eligible only if the youth was a dependent or ward of the court, living in foster care, between the ages of 16 and 18 � Not have reached their 22 nd birthday as of July 1 st of the award year Making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians. 4

California Student Aid Commission School Eligibility For 2017 -2018, new Chafee grant awards will be offered to students only if the student attends either: � A qualifying institution that is eligible to participate in the Cal Grant program OR � An institution that is not located in California with a: � Three-year cohort default rate less than 15. 5% and � Overall graduation rate greater than 30% � Chafee students that previously received a payment and are still eligible for Chafee are not subject to the provisions of AB 2506. 5 Making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians.

California Student Aid Commission Chafee Process Flow 1. 2. 3. 4. Student application process and DSS Verification Award based on priority selection criteria Student is placed on school roster School certifies eligibility and requests payment 5. 6. 7. Payments sent to school Second eligibility check and disbursement Institutional Reconciliation 6 Making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians.

California Student Aid Commission Chafee Process Flow Student Application Process Awarding School Chafee Roster Certify and Request Payment Sent to School Students must complete: • Chafee Grant application (one-time) • FAFSA or Dream Act (every year) CSAC receives verification of foster care eligibility directly from Department of Social Services (monthly) Disbursement Reconciliation 7 Making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians.

California Student Aid Commission Chafee Process Flow Student Application Process Awarding School Chafee Roster Certify and Request Payment Sent to School Disbursement Reconciliation Priority Awarding Criteria: 1. Paid renewal students 2. New and non-paid renewal students 3. New and non-paid renewal students who have dependents 4. New and non-paid renewal students with an unmet need greater than $5, 000 5. New and non-paid renewal students with an unmet need less than $5, 000 8 Making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians.

California Student Aid Commission Chafee Process Flow Student Application Process Awarding School Chafee Roster All eligible students will appear on your roster as either Awarded or Pending. Awarded: Student has a preliminary award and you can certify eligibility and request payment. Payment Sent to School Pending: Student is eligible but not awarded. The student is lower on the priority awarding scale and will become Awarded as funds get recycled. Disbursement OR Certify and Request Payment Reconciliation There is a pending transaction that will process Monday evening. Not Awarded: Student not eligible 9 Making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians.

Web. Grants Chafee Roster 10

California Student Aid Commission Chafee Process Flow Student Application Process Awarding School Chafee Roster Certify and Request Payment Sent to School Disbursement To maximize funding, it is very important for schools to certify eligibility and request payment timely. Schools must certify eligibility and request payment each term. Payments must be requested sequentially – The Fall payment term must be resolved before you can request a Spring payment. Reconciliation 11 Making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians.

California Student Aid Commission Chafee Process Flow Student Application Process Awarding School Chafee Roster Certify and Request Payment Sent to School Just as important as requesting payment is to let us know if a student is not eligible. Check one the most appropriate reason for ineligibility. If the student subsequently becomes eligible you would let us know by removing the check on the roster Disbursement Reconciliation 12 Making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians.

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California Student Aid Commission Chafee Process Flow Student Application Process Awarding School Chafee Roster Certify and Request Payment Sent to School Payment requests made Tuesday through Monday are sent to the State Controllers Office for payment. Checks are sent from the State Controllers Office directly to the school made out to the student. Disbursement Reconciliation 16 Making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians.

California Student Aid Commission Chafee Process Flow Student Application Process Awarding School Chafee Roster Certify and Request Payment Sent to School Disbursement Reconciliation Once the check is received, schools must verify that the student: • Is still enrolled at least half-time • Is meeting your SAP policy • Has unmet need greater than the amount of the check Schools are expected to disburse the check (or return it to CSACA within 10 days of receipt. Chafee Grant checks should not be deposited into the student’s account unless you receive authorization from the student to do so. Making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians. 17

California Student Aid Commission Chafee Process Flow Student Application Process Awarding School Chafee Roster Certify and Request Payment Sent to School Disbursement Abatements If they student is no longer eligible for their Chafee grant schools must return the check. On the check stub, schools should indicate the reason for return. Schools are expected to disburse the check with 10 days of receipt. Reconciliation 18 Making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians.

California Student Aid Commission Chafee Process Flow Student Application Process Awarding School Chafee Roster Schools are encouraged to utilize the Institution Reconciliation screen on Web. Grants. Certify and Request Payment Sent to School Disbursement Reconciliation 19 Making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians.

California Student Aid Commission Chafee Process Flow - Reconciliation 20 Making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians.

California Student Aid Commission Chafee Process Flow - Reconciliation 21 Making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians.

California Student Aid Commission 2016 -17 Update �Last payment run for 2016 -17 will be September 25, 2017 �Program totals: �Awarded: 3, 500 students �Award amount: $13, 914, 382 � Remaining to award: $419, 373 (about 83 full-time) �Paid - $13, 058, 010 ($856, 372) �Abatements � 2016 -2017 - $968, 155 (6. 69%) 22 Making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians.

California Student Aid Commission 2017 -18 Awards �Program totals: � Awarded amount: $14, 329, 573 � 2875 students �Segment breakdown Segment Amount Students CCC $9, 844, 199 1972 CSU $2, 487, 308 502 UC $587, 500 118 Private $865, 000 173 Out of State $540, 566 109 �First payment run will be August 21, 2017 Making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians. 23

California Student Aid Commission Operational Updates � Awards that have not been certified, that are more than 30 days old, will be made ineligible. � Schools don’t have to worry about indicating that a student is ineligible because if they become subsequently eligible, they will be re-awarded based on their priority. Schools just need to remove the ineligible reason on the roster and during the next cycle the student will be re-awarded. � Notices are sent to the students to let them know they will be made ineligible and to contact the Financial Aid Office if they have questions or to make a school change if they are no longer enrolled at that school. � GOM 2017 -06 (Operational Memo) Making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians. 24

California Student Aid Commission Final Questions or Comments 25 Making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians.

California Student Aid Commission Chafee Contacts & Resources Yvonne Hollingsworth yvonne. hollingsworth@csac. ca. gov 916 -464 -7992 Santiago Morales smorales@csac. ca. gov (916) 464 -7992 Gina Browne gbrowne@csac. ca. gov (916) 464 -8050 Student Support (888) 224 -7268 option 3 Email chafee@csac. ca. gov https: //chafee. csac. ca. gov Making education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians. 26