The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is accepting applications for the 2022 DCFS Scholarship Program. The program will award a minimum of 53 scholarships will be awarded to current and former youth under their care for the upcoming school year.
Scholarship recipients will receive up to five consecutive years of tuition and an academic fee waivers to be used at participating Illinois state public universities and community colleges, a medical card, and a monthly grant of $1,273 to offset other expenses. The department, on average, receives 200 application packets each year and has awarded over 1,500 scholarships since the program began in 1971.
The DCFS Scholarship Program is available to youth who have an open DCFS case, whose cases were closed through adoption or guardianship, or who aged out of care at age 18 or older. Youth who are at least 16 years old and not yet age 21 on March 31 have until March 31 to apply.
Applications are made available at any DCFS regional office or on the DCFS website at www2.illinois.gov/dcfs. Students or caregivers with questions about the application process or more information can call the DCFS Office of Education and Transition Services at 217-557-2689 or email DCFS.OfficeofEducationandTransitionServices@illinois.gov.
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