Foster Youth and Homeless Students

Knight Alliance Network

 

Our Office

The Knight Alliance Network provides support services supporting the student success and well-being of youth who experience foster care, relative care, adopted, or homelessness.

The Knight Alliance Network plays an essential role in the students’ lives by focusing on the student’s well-being and providing support services to encourage the completion of college. We engage in impactful practices, processes and programs which enhance the student experience and overall student success.

Our Mission

The mission of the Knight Alliance Network (KAN) is to provide guidance, support, resources, advocacy, financial and economic literacy, and a place of belonging to foster youth and homeless youth enrolled at the University of Central Florida. The KAN mentoring program clarifies the college experience, assists students as they navigate through the university landscape, and helps students prepare for personal and academic success.

Who We Serve

Foster Youth, Homeless, and Adopted youth. For postsecondary education, s. 409.1452, Florida Statutes, requires public postsecondary institutions to provide campus liaisons to students who are current or former foster youth. In addition, the 2022 Florida Legislature revised s. 409.1452, Florida Statutes, to include students experiencing homelessness as part of the group of students supported by Campus liaisons. The State University Foster Care and Homeless DCF Liaison is Tammie Nadeau, Assistant Director, tammie.nadeau@ucf.edu, 407-823-1832

Our office strategically partners with campus and community partners, to promote the well-being of KAN students. The KAN offers the following services:

  • Pre-college enrollment Support
  • Transition Support
  • Goal setting
  • Advocacy
  • Assistance with waiver(s)
  • Assistance with navigating campus
  • On-campus support services
  • One on one counseling
  • Coaching
  • Resources
  • Referrals
  • Tuition Waiver Assistance
  • Mentoring

Types of Tuition Fee Exemptions (Waivers) 

 

Foster Youth

The waivers are available to students under age 28 who meet specific criteria, including aging out of foster care, being adopted, and being placed into permanent guardianship. Students who are or were under the care of a relative or a non-relative at the time of their 18th birthday through the Florida Department of Children and Families are eligible for an education tuition and fees exemption as defined in the Florida Statutes, Title XLVIII, Early Learning-20 Education Code, Chapter 1009 Educational Scholarships, Fees, and Financial Assistance, 1009.25(d) Fee exemptions. Students may be eligible to receive the Foster Care Tuition Fee Exemption from the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF)

Homelessness and McKenny-Vento Homeless Assistance

McKinney-Vento Language:

(2) The term “homeless children and youths”—

(A) Means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence (within the

meaning of section 11302(a)(1) of this title); and

(B) includes—

(i) children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals; (ii) children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings (within the meaning of section 11302(a)(2)(C) [1] of this title);

(iii) children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and

(iv) migratory children (as such term is defined in section 6399 of title 20) who qualify as

homeless for the purposes of this part because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses (i) through (iii).

Adopted Youth

Adoptee Care Tuition Fee Exemption – Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF)

Students who are or were at the time before the age of 18, adopted from the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) after May 5, 1997, are eligible for an education tuition and fees exemption as defined in the Florida Statutes, Title XLVIII, Early Learning-20 Education Code, Chapter 1009 Educational Scholarships, Fees, and Financial Assistance, 1009.25(d) Fee exemptions.

 

HOMELESS TUITION EXEMPTION APPLY HERE

Community Resources

 

Financial Support for Foster Parents –https://www.moneygeek.com/financial-planning/managing-finances-as-a-foster-parent/

Financial Empowerment for Youth Who Have Aged Out of Foster Care – https://www.moneygeek.com/financial-planning/resources-for-foster-youth-aging-out/

How to Be an Ally for LGBTQ+ Experiencing Homelessnesshttps://www.beautyschoolsdirectory.com/blog/supporting-homeless