Can former foster care status (ages 12-14) qualify my daughter as independent for FAFSA?

I'm pretty sure she has to still be in foster care at 13 to qualify as independent. If she's with you now then she's probably dependent. But maybe someone else knows better than me.

The FAFSA rules for former foster youth are very specific. For your daughter to qualify as independent, she would need to have been in foster care or a ward of the court at age 13 or older, BUT here's the critical part - the rule applies as of the date she submits the FAFSA application. Since she returned to your home at 14 1/2 and you're now providing support, she would not qualify as independent under the foster care provision. The exact wording on the FAFSA asks if "At any time since you turned 13, were both your parents deceased, were you in foster care, or were you a dependent or ward of the court?" While your daughter was in foster care after turning 13, she's now under your care and support, making her a dependent student for FAFSA purposes. You'll need to include your income and asset information on her FAFSA application. Keep those court documents though, as some colleges might consider this situation for professional judgment reviews if you contact their financial aid offices directly.

my brother was in foster care but it didn't matter when he filled out fafsa because he had already been adopted by my parents before he applied. i think its only if they are CURRENTLY in foster care or aged out of the system at 18 that it counts

The system is SO BROKEN!!! My niece was in foster care for 3 years and they STILL made her report her mom's income even though they barely spoke anymore. The whole system is designed to deny aid to people who need it! They make these rules so complicated on purpose just to discourage people from getting financial aid. FAFSA should count ANY foster care experience as independent status, period. Why should kids who've been through trauma have to jump through more hoops???

I work in financial aid, and I can clarify this. The key is the wording on the FAFSA: "At any time since you turned 13, were both your parents deceased, were you in foster care, or were you a dependent or ward of the court?" This is often misunderstood. If a student was in foster care at ANY point after turning 13, they CAN qualify as independent, EVEN if they later returned to their biological parent's home. The important factor is having documentation to prove the foster care status occurred after age 13. I recommend you do the following: 1. Answer "yes" to the foster care question on the FAFSA 2. Have the documentation ready, but don't upload it with the initial FAFSA (there's no place to do so) 3. After submitting, her FAFSA will likely be selected for verification 4. At that point, you'll submit documentation directly to the schools' financial aid offices 5. Each school may require different documentation formats (copies, originals, etc.) Be prepared for the verification process to take 2-3 weeks after submitting documentation.

I need to correct my earlier statement. After re-checking the Federal Student Aid Handbook, the guidance is that a student who was in foster care or was a dependent/ward of the court at any time after the age of 13 qualifies as independent, even if they subsequently returned to their parents. The key is having proper documentation to support this during verification. I apologize for the confusion in my previous response.

When I was trying to verify my own special circumstances for FAFSA (emancipated minor), I spent THREE WEEKS trying to reach someone at Federal Student Aid to confirm what documentation I needed. The phone lines were always busy or would disconnect me after being on hold for hours. I finally found Claimyr (claimyr.com) which got me connected to an actual FSA agent in about 8 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent was able to confirm exactly what documentation was needed for verification and how to submit it. For foster care verification, they'll need court documents showing dates. Since your situation is a bit unusual (returning to bio parent after foster care), I'd definitely recommend speaking directly with FSA to make sure you understand exactly what's needed before submitting anything.

My friend was in a similar situation and her college made her submit the court docs to their financial aid office directly, not through FAFSA. Each school might handle it differently tho

Quick update on the documentation process: When your FAFSA is selected for verification after answering "yes" to the foster care question, each school's financial aid office will send a verification form. You'll typically need to provide: 1. Court documents showing dates of foster care placement 2. Official documentation showing she was a ward of the court 3. Possibly a statement explaining the situation Each school handles this differently, but most will accept certified copies rather than originals. Keep electronic copies of everything. The verification process typically adds 2-4 weeks to financial aid processing, so submit everything as early as possible in the application cycle. And just to be 100% clear: The fact that she returned to live with you does NOT disqualify her from independent status as long as she was in foster care after age 13. The law is intended to recognize the disruption that foster care creates, regardless of whether family reunification happened later.

Just wanted to add my experience here - my daughter was in a very similar situation. She was in foster care from age 14-16, then came back to live with us. I was terrified we'd mess up the FAFSA, but we answered "yes" to the foster care question and she qualified as independent. The verification process was pretty straightforward - we just had to submit copies of the court orders showing the dates she was in care. Don't let anyone tell you she doesn't qualify just because she's back home with you now! The whole point of this rule is to help kids who've been through the foster system, regardless of their current living situation. Good luck with everything!

I'm a newcomer here but wanted to share what I learned when helping my nephew with a similar situation last year. He was in foster care from 15-17, then moved in with his grandmother. When we filled out his FAFSA, we were initially scared to answer "yes" to the foster care question because he wasn't currently in care, but after speaking with a financial aid counselor, we learned that the key phrase is "at any time since you turned 13." The verification process wasn't too bad - we had to provide court documents to each school showing the dates he was in foster care. What really helped was creating a timeline document that clearly showed when he entered care, when he left, and where he went afterward. Some schools appreciated having that context alongside the official court papers. One tip I'd add: if any of the schools seem hesitant during verification, don't be afraid to reference the Federal Student Aid Handbook directly. The rules are pretty clear that prior foster care experience after age 13 qualifies a student as independent, regardless of current living arrangements. Your daughter definitely seems to qualify based on what you've described!

As someone who just went through this process with my own daughter, I can confirm what others have said - she absolutely qualifies as independent! My daughter was in foster care from ages 13-15, then came back to live with us. I was so confused by all the conflicting information online, but the financial aid officer at our local community college walked me through it step by step. The key thing to remember is that the FAFSA question asks "At any time since you turned 13" - not whether she's currently in foster care. Since your daughter was in care after turning 13 (even if she later returned home), she meets the criteria. For documentation, I'd recommend getting certified copies of all court orders rather than just regular photocopies. Some schools were pickier than others about this. Also, if you have any documentation showing she was specifically a "ward of the court" (not just in foster care), that can be helpful too since the FAFSA question covers both situations. One last tip - start the verification process early! Even though it usually only takes 2-3 weeks, you don't want financial aid delays to impact her enrollment. Good luck!

I'm new to this community but wanted to share what I learned when helping my sister navigate this exact same situation. She was in foster care from age 13-16, then returned to live with our mom. I was really confused about the FAFSA rules at first too, but after reading through all these responses, I'm now confident that your daughter definitely qualifies as independent! The key thing that helped us was contacting each school's financial aid office directly before submitting documentation. Some schools had specific forms they wanted us to fill out in addition to the court documents, while others just needed the basic paperwork. Having that conversation upfront saved us from having to resubmit things later. Also, I'd recommend keeping detailed records of every interaction you have during the verification process - dates, names of who you spoke with, what documents you submitted, etc. It really helped when one school lost our paperwork and we needed to prove we had already submitted everything on time. Your daughter has been through enough already with the foster care experience - don't let anyone make this process harder than it needs to be. The rules are clear that she qualifies, and you have every right to advocate for her to get the independent status she deserves!