SETTING THE CONTEXT

NAEHCY RESOURCES

The U.S. Department of Education's Application and Verification Guide(AVG) provides instructions and guidance to financial aid administrators (FAAs) and counselors who help students fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The AVG contains important information regarding independent student status for unaccompanied homeless youth in its Special Cases section.
Download the Application and Verification Guide.
Download the Application and Verification Guide: Special Cases.

This tip sheet provides a step-by-step guide to unaccompanied youth for filling out questions that refer to their status as an unaccompanied youth without stable housing. Guidance is given for filling out the online or paper version of the FAFSA. A list of additional resources is also included.
Download the tip sheet.

This brief provides information on helping unaccompanied youth access financial aid for college. It includes information on the provisions of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 that make it easier for unaccompanied youth to apply for federal financial aid using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Download the brief.

This two-page brief summarizes the amendments designed to increase homeless and foster students? access to postsecondary education contained in the Higher Education Opportunity Act, reauthorized in August 2008.
Download the brief.

Income Tax and the FAFSA for Unaccompanied Homeless Youth

This two-page brief answers various questions about the relationship between the filing of tax returns and a youth's completion of the FAFSA. Questions answered include: How does a youth?s decision to file a tax return affect the FAFSA?; Are youth required to file tax returns?, and; What should an unaccompanied youth do if his/her parents claim him/her as a dependent on their tax returns?.
Download the brief.

This form, developed collaboratively by the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) and the National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE), is to be completed by a college financial aid administrator (FAA) who is evaluating a student’s eligibility for independent student status. It provides guidance to assist FAAs in making a determination if a student seeking independent student status as an unaccompanied homeless youth comes to the attention of a FAA when a determination by a local liaison or shelter is not available.
Download the form.

This template provides local homeless education liaisons, HUD-funded shelter representatives, and RHYA-funded shelter representatives with a sample form for verifying a student's status as an unaccompanied homeless youth for the purpose of applying for federal financial aid for higher education using the FAFSA.
Download the template.

OTHER RESOURCES

The National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE) serves as the information and technical assistance center for the U.S. Department of Education's Education for Homeless Children and Youth program.
Visit NCHE's Access to Higher Education for Students Experiencing Homelessness page .