Illinois DCFS Scholarship Program to current and former youth in care

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services will award 53 academic scholarships to current and former youth in care for the upcoming school year.

Four of those awards will be reserved for the children of veterans. The application process is now open.

Scholarship recipients receive up to five consecutive years of tuition and academic fee waivers. These must at participating Illinois state community colleges and universities.

They will also receive a medical card and monthly grant of $1,235 to offset other expenses.

Scholarship recipients are selected based on their scholastic record and aptitude, community and extracurricular activities, three letters of recommendation from non-relatives and a written statement illustrating their purpose for higher education.

However, due to pandemic-related limited availability of ACT and SAT testing sites, ACT and SAT test scores will not be considered for any applicants in the 2021 selection process.

The DCFS Scholarship Program is open to youth who have an open DCFS case, whose cases were closed through adoption or guardianship or who aged out of care at 18 or older.

Youth who are at least 16 years old and not yet 21 on March 31 may apply.

On average, the department receives 200 application packets each year, and has awarded over 1,400 scholarships since the program began in 1971.

DCFS will accept applications through March 31.

Applications are available at any DCFS regional office and on the DCFS website: www2.illinois.gov/dcfs (Form CFS 438 under DCFS Features on the homepage).

Students or caregivers may call the DCFS Office of Education and Transition Services at 217-557-2689 with questions about the application process or for more information.