At Student Assistance Foundation, we strive to provide Montana foster care youths with the tools they need to be successful in their educational pursuits. We accomplish this by providing programs geared to their unique needs.
Montana foster care youth are invited each year to apply for available slots at the “Step Ahead” college preparatory camp. The free camp coordinated by Student Assistance Foundation offers foster care students the opportunity to experience learning in a college campus setting.
Students from across the state participate in activities geared toward teaching them activities including basic computer skills, how to use online resources to research scholarships, careers and more, money management techniques, and how Foster Care Education and Training Vouchers can help them pay for college. But, perhaps the most exciting aspect of the camp is that each participant receives a new computer to take home with them.
To qualify, applicants must be in state or tribal foster care custody or recently “aged out” of the foster care system. In addition, applicants must have identified aspirations to attain postsecondary education as part of their Transitional Living Plan.
“I would like to encourage other kids to come to the camp and take it seriously. Look at your life 30 years from now and the difference having an education will make. Going to college will change your life.” — Amanda Hogan, “A Step Ahead” 2007 camper.
For more information about “A Step Ahead,” contact Rhonda Safford at (406) 495-7750 or email rsafford@safmt.org. Download the application for the 2012 camp here.
Montana foster care youth are eligible to receive up to $5,000 per year to cover the cost of attending a postsecondary institution through the Foster Care Education and Training Voucher (ETV) program. The program is offered through a partnership between Student Assistance Foundation and the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (Montana Foster Care Independence Program). For more information download our ETV Fact Sheet.
Who Qualifies?“The money I received through the ETV program helped me move from
the dorms, to an apartment off campus, and aided my transition into the
Bozeman community. This, and the ETV program helped make it possible
for me to live on my own and make it in the real world.”
— Katie Yother, Montana’s first ETV graduate.
How to Apply:
Contact Rhonda Safford, community outreach manager/foster care coordinator, at (406) 495-7750 or the Montana Foster Care Independence Program at (406) 444-5900.