Oregon Chafee Education and Training Voucher Program
Offered by Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission Office of Student Access and Completion
About this scholarship
The Oregon Chafee Education and Training Voucher Program provides up to $5,000 per academic year to help current and former foster youth pay for postsecondary education or training. The grant is need based, so the college determines the actual amount after considering cost of attendance, enrollment level, other state and federal grants, and any Chafee voucher funds received directly through the Oregon Department of Human Services. Awards may be lower than $5,000 and depend on available funding. Eligible applicants are currently in child-welfare foster care; spent at least 180 days in foster care after age 13 and exited substitute care at age 14 or older; or were adopted or entered guardianship on or after age 13, with the adoption or guardianship finalized after September 1, 2015. Students must be age 25 or younger when applying, and the final grant disbursement must occur in the term before age 26. Applicants complete both the FAFSA and the official online Chafee ETV application. Oregon DHS verifies foster-care eligibility, and students with out-of-state foster histories may need a letter documenting their dates in care; applying through the original state is recommended when possible. Deadlines depend on the first college term: August 1 for fall, November 1 for winter, February 1 for spring, and May 1 for summer. The 2026-27 application is open, and the next future-term deadline is November 1, 2026.
Eligibility
- Be currently in child-welfare foster care or meet one of the program’s former-foster-youth pathways
- If using the foster-care-duration pathway, have at least 180 days in care after age 13 and exit at age 14 or older
- If adopted or placed in guardianship, meet the age-13 and September 1, 2015 finalization rules
- Be age 25 or younger when applying
- Enroll in an eligible postsecondary education or training program
- Demonstrate financial need after other aid is considered
- Complete the FAFSA and the online Chafee ETV application
- Provide out-of-state foster-care verification when Oregon cannot access the records
- Apply by November 1, 2026 for winter 2027 or the published deadline for another starting term