Proposal to waive college tuition for foster children
A pending proposal at the state capitol will help foster children with college tuition, room and board.
On February 3rd, House Bill 1313 was passed in the Mississippi House unanimously. This bill proposal will allow a ‘Fostering Access and Inspiring True Hope’ Scholarship Program to be created that will provide post-secondary financial assistance to foster students. Representative Richard Bennett said, “What we are trying to do with this bill is give them a hand-up to get them in, whether it’s a trade school, whether it’s a junior college or a four-year college, to pay for the gap in there for them.”
Under the proposal, foster students will be able to receive free tuition, room and board ,and also housing during holiday breaks. “When Christmas break comes, when Thanksgiving break comes, or semester breaks, I should say, come, the dorms are usually closed and they have to have a place to go. They have nowhere to go. So, we have worked with universities, we worked with the junior colleges, and they are going to stay open for these students.”
CASA Harrison and Stone County Executive Director Tiffany Dillard says if this bill passed, it will help foster kids out tremendously. “This bill to me gives hope to foster children who are already going through a daunting transition.”
Many times, after children are out of the system, they are left struggling to figure out what’s next. “This additional support will just help with self-sufficiency. We know that you are more likely to get a job if you have some type of training and education. So, we all want our children to be self-sufficient.”
If this bill is passed, it would create 150 scholarships with many added each year. The maximum number will be 900. “You have got to bring these problems or these obstacles to people’s attention and they will react.”
The bill will move to the Senate next.
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