Fostering Hope Scholarship

Alabama’s FOSTERING HOPE SCHOLARSHIP is a state-funded investment in the post-secondary education and training goals of qualified youth who were in the foster care system when they earned a high school diploma or GED.  The scholarship is also extended to those who are a part of the States Kinship-Guardianship program or adopted from Alabama foster care after the age of 14.  This program covers tuition and required fees for eligible students enrolled in a post-secondary certificate or degree program.

www.fosteringhopeal.org


Education/Training Vouchers (ETV) for Foster Youth

Alabama Education and Training Voucher Program is a federally-funded, state-administered program designed to help youth who were in U.S. foster care. Students may receive up to $5,000 a year for qualified school related expenses. Funding is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible students. Applicants must complete the ETV application which includes documentation each semester that is sent directly from the school to ETV confirming enrollment, the cost of attendance (COA) and unmet need. Open applications begin in July of each year.

Eligibility Requirements

  • You must be a current or former foster student who was in U.S. foster care on your 18th birthday or are at least 16 years of age and have left foster care for kinship guardianship or adoption.
  • You must be a U.S. citizen or qualified non-citizen.
  • Your personal assets (bank account, car, home, etc.) are worth less than $10,000.
  • You must be at least 17 to apply for the first time.  Youth are eligible for ETV through age 26 with a cap at 5 years of funding.
  • You must have been accepted into or be enrolled in a degree, certificate or other accredited program at a college, university, technical and/or vocational school. To remain eligible for ETV and Fostering Hope funding, you must show progress toward a degree or certificate.

www.fosteringhopeal.org 


Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free, high-quality books to children from birth until they begin school, no matter their family’s income. The program is available in Choctaw, Mobile, Etowah, Tuscaloosa, Marengo, Greene, Sumter, Pickens, Hale, Colbert, Lauderdale, Covington, Franklin, Fayette, Talladega, and Elmore counties. It is also available in several communities and cities.

https://imaginationlibrary.com


Children’s Aid Society of Alabama

Children’s Aid Society is a statewide program designed to empower adoptive families facing adoption challenges and to facilitate stronger bonds and interaction within all adoptive families. Their purpose is providing education and support to strengthen and empower Alabama’s adoptive families.

Phone: 334-409-9477

www.childrensaid.org