Oklahoma Promise Sees 400 Foster Care Seniors

OKLAHOMA CAPITOL -- More than 400 high school seniors who are presently in state custody are set to graduate this May and have met the criteria to attend an Oklahoma college or university tuition free, according to a state official.
Over the last 4 years more than 1,100 children in foster care have had the benefit of being enrolled in Oklahoma’s Promise Program, also known as Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program. The programs enrollment has steadily increased since 2006 and Clay Zahn, programs field representative, Oklahoma Department of Human Services said the increase is due to a greater awareness of the program by child welfare specialists, foster parents and school counselors. Zahn said that child welfare specialists work diligently year-round to ensure that children in foster care are enrolled in the program.

OKDHS mails an average of 1,500 applications a year to eighth grade foster care children as they become eligible to participate in Oklahoma’s Promise Program. So far this school year, 167 students have applied for the program.

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (OSRHE) works closely with OKDHS to shorten the application process for foster care children by eliminating the income portion of the form. Typically, the income of a student’s parents must not exceed $50,000 in a tax year; however since foster care children are in the custody of OKDHS they do not have parental income to provide.  

Oklahoma’s Promise is a program administered by the OSRHE and offers students the opportunity to attend college upon meeting minimum grade point average and core curriculum requirements. For more information about Oklahoma’s Promise, visit http://www.okpromise.org/.

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