NYC Foster Care Students Will Get Up To $15K College Tuition Covered

NEW YORK CITY — A new $10 million program will help foster a college education for some of New York City's most at-risk youths, officials said.

Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday unveiled "College Choice," an effort that promises to pay up to $15,000 college tuition for hundreds of students in foster care.

Foster care students need a "bridge," rather than a "cliff," as they seek an education and make decisions about their futures, he said.

“If you don’t educate, you will incarcerate and you will devastate the lives of the people who are abandoned along the way,” he said.

The program expands on a previous city effort called Fostering College Success that provided year-round housing, tuition assistance and smaller stipends for students, said Jess Dannhauser, the city’s commissioner for the Administration for Children’s Services.

Dannhauser said the program guarantees young people in foster care can attend the college of their choice without the worry of a “financial nightmare.”

“That’s right, no matter the school — East Coast, West Coast, public, private, two years, four years — ACS will cover the expenses,” he said.

All students in the program also will receive a $60 daily stipend to cover expenses, Dannhauser said.

Such a stipend is “critical” because without money to cover the basics — food, clothing, transportation and more — many young people have dropped out of school, he said.

About 230 young people in New York City foster care can take advantage of College Choice in the upcoming school year, officials said.