What Types Of Documentation Must a School Accept If It Questions a Student's Answer To the Foster Care Question On the FAFSA?

Schools are not required to verify the answers to FAFSA questions used to determine a student's dependency status, including foster care status. However, effective with the 2023-24 award year, should a school choose to require documentation of a student's foster care status, the school must consider any of the following as adequate documentation:

• Submission of a court order or official state documentation that the student received federal or state support in foster care;
• A documented phone call, written statement, or verifiable electronic data match, which confirms the student was in foster care at an applicable age, from-
  • a state, county, or tribal agency administering a program under part B or E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq. and 670 et seq.);
  • a state Medicaid agency; or
  • a public or private foster care placing agency or foster care facility or placement;
• A documented phone call or a written statement from an attorney, a guardian ad litem, or a Court Appointed Special Advocate that confirms that the student was in foster care at an applicable age and documents the person's relationship to the student;
• Verification of the student's eligibility for an education and training voucher under the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program under section 477 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 677); or
• A documented phone call or written statement from a financial aid administrator who documented the student's circumstance in the same or a prior award year.

Reference Section 479D of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended, [20 USC 1087uu-2].