Press Release Archive
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Governor Culver Announces All Iowa Opportunity Foster Care Scholarship Recipients
80 Foster Care Youth to Receive Scholarships
(Des Moines, IA) - Governor Chet Culver today announced that 80 Iowa foster care youth will be the first to receive education assistance through the All Iowa Opportunity Foster Care Grant. The program, which was signed into law by Governor Culver on May 29, 2007, will provide educational assistance to Iowa youth who were in foster care, or who were adopted from foster care after their 16th birthdays.
“I ran for Governor to expand access to higher education,” said Governor Culver. “Today, Iowa ranks near the bottom in needs-based access to higher education. Iowa can do better. The All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship will give young people, including Iowa’s foster care youth, who have been historically left behind the chance to go to college. This is good for them, and good for our state. We must continue to train, improve and expand our workforce to be able to meet potential workforce challenges in the coming years.”
The All Iowa Opportunity Foster Care Grant provides grants up to the full cost of attendance to eligible applicants. In addition to having been in foster care, or adopted from foster care after their 16th birthdays, applicants also must be between 18 and 23 years of age, have graduated from high school or attained a general equivalency diploma (GED), and be a resident of the state of Iowa. The 2007 recipients of the All Iowa Opportunity Foster Care Grants are college students at 26 Iowa colleges and universities. The average award amount is $5,876, with the largest award being $14,883.
“Rising student loan debt is a concern for all college students. We are very pleased that the All Iowa Opportunity Foster Care Grant has made it possible for these students to cover their college expenses without the need for student loans,” said Karen Misjak, Executive Director of the Iowa College Student Aid Commission. “It is hard to imagine facing this challenge alone, which is how approximately 450 youth who age out of Iowa foster care feel each year. The All Iowa Opportunity Foster Care Grant can really make a difference for foster care youth pursuing their educational and career goals.”
The All Iowa Opportunity Foster Care Grant is a separate program from the All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship Program, which also was signed into law by Governor Culver on the same day. While both programs are designed to support first-generation students and those from disadvantaged backgrounds, the All Iowa Opportunity Foster Care Grant was specifically created to provide educational funding to foster care youth who don’t have family resources to assist them in continuing their educations. The application deadline for the All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship program was October 1, and recipients will be notified in early November. Applications for the All Iowa Opportunity Foster Care Grant are accepted year round and money will be awarded until funds are depleted.
For more details about each of these programs, please visit the Iowa College Student Aid Commission’s website www.IowaCollegeAid.gov, email us at info@IowaCollegeAid.gov, or call an Information Service Center Specialist at 800-383-4222.