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Question of the Week: Post-Secondary Education
Q: Are there any differences in the eyes of college admissions offices between graduation with a high school diploma, GED, or a "California Certificate of Completion"?
Click here for the answer.
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Changes to Chafee Grant Program Streamline Access for Students
The California Student Aid Commission recently announced changes to the administration of Chafee Grant Program, which provides up to $5000 annually to eligible foster youth attending college. In an effort to streamline the awarding process, the requirement that colleges submit a Need Analysis Report (NAR) before a Chafee award is made has been eliminated, starting in the 2016-17 academic year. Prior to this change, missing, incomplete or inaccurate submissions by schools could delay or prevent an applicant from being considered for an award and students had no control over whether their college submitted the NAR to CSAC on time. Beginning January 1, 2016, institutions will no longer submit NARs in WebGrants or by paper. Information contained within the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and cost of attendance information will replace the NAR process to determine the student’s financial eligibility for a Chafee grant. To download the full CSAC memo, click here.
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Students With a High School Certificate of Completion May Now be Eligible for Diploma
On January 1, 2016 Senate Bill 172 (Liu) took effect, requiring school districts to grant a high school diploma to any student who completed grade twelve since 2004 and has met all graduation requirements applicable at the time other than passing the high school exit examination (CAHSEE). This means that foster youth previously not eligible for a diploma may now be eligible, which in turn will allow these students to obtain federal financial aid. SB172 also suspends the exit examination requirement for the 2015/16, 2016/17, and 2017/18 school years.
Eligible students should contact the school district, county office of education, or charter school where they completed grade twelve. School districts are not required to contact students. The educational agency must verify that the student had met all state and local requirements for their diploma, with the exception of passing the CAHSEE. If the student changed schools or districts, students should contact the school or school district of last enrollment to request their diploma. For more information click here or contact the High School and Physical Fitness Assessment Office at cahsee@cde.ca.gov or (916) 445-9449.
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2016 Project Foster Youth Scholarship Application Available
California Youth Connection, in partnership with Project Foster Youth, recently released the application for 2016 Project Foster Youth College Scholarships. Project Foster Youth College Scholarships are unrestricted $600.00 grants paid directly to foster youth to use for whatever they need to pursue their college studies. The scholarships are available to any current or former foster youth from California who was in court-ordered foster care at age 13 or any point after, and who is currently enrolled or will enroll in college or university during 2016. There is no age limit or minimum grade point average. Download the application for full details on how to apply. Applications are due April 1, 2016. For questions, email ProjectFosterYouth@gmail.com or darryn@calyouthconn.org.
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Federal Budget Includes Small Increases for Homeless Youth Programs
On December 18, 2015 Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the fiscal year (FY) 2016 omnibus spending bill that funds all discretionary federal operations, including homeless assistance and affordable housing programs, through the end of the federal fiscal year on September 30, 2016. The bill provides $2.250 billion for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants program, a $115 million or 5.4 percent increase over FY 2015 funding, but $230 million less than the Obama administration's requested amount. This includes $33 million for demonstration projects in ten communities that show how a comprehensive approach to serving homeless youth aged 24 and under can dramatically reduce youth homelessness and $5 million for technical assistance for youth homelessness. In addition the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act received $101.98 million, which is a $4.98 million increase over FY 2015.
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New Predictive Analytics Tool Helps Child Welfare Systems Reduce Risk of Delinquency
The National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) released a new report describing efforts made with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to prevent youth in the child welfare system from becoming involved in the juvenile justice system. NCCD and DCFS partnered to develop an actuarial screening assessment, which Los Angeles County workers used to classify youth by their likelihood of subsequent juvenile justice involvement. Assessment results enabled the county to focus prevention service programming on youth at highest risk of dual-system involvement. Although the report cites several significant challenges with data collection and consistency of implementation of the program model, the evaluation found that youth who were enrolled in the Delinquency Prevention Pilot did experience lower rates of criminal justice involvement. Youth who did not receive DPP services had the highest outcome rates (9% for arrest and 9% for sustained petition) whereas just 7% of youth in the first cohort of participants were arrested, and 3% had a sustained petition. None of the youth in a second group of participants who received services were arrested by the end of six months.
The report provides recommendations for counties wishing to reduce delinquency involvement including developing systems for agencies to record more comprehensive service and outcome data, and a commitment to continuing the program for a long enough period of time to adequately evaluate implementation. In addition the study found that it is important to have dedicated resources available to support program implementation. Reallocating already-limited resources towards high-risk youth may be insufficient to prevent subsequent delinquency.
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