GED Preparation For those participants who are working on their General Education Diploma, or GED, the CIAO Program has both an Education Coordinator and an individual/small group Tutor to provide assistance and assess progress. CIAO's Education Coordinator will assess each participant on an individual basis to make a determination if their educational needs can best be met in-house at the CIAO Program or through a referral to a more appropriate partnering agency. CIAO can also cover fees involved for GED assessment for those actively enrolled in the program. | College Exploration/Registration/Financial Aid Assistance CIAO Program staff are very sensitive to the complexity of the financial aid process to many college-bound students. As such, our Education Coordinator is available to walk participants through the entire process - from researching and exploring different colleges and arranging for campus tours to applying, registering for classes and filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). We also work to make sure that our participants are knowledgeable in all of the forms of financial assistance that they may be eligible for (ETV, TIP, scholarship opportunities, etc.) |
ACT/SAT Tutoring CIAO's Educational Coordinator utilizes specialized web-based software to assist interested participants in preparing for their ACT and/or SAT tests. In addition to this software, individualized tutoring is provided where needed. | Occupational Skills Training Every participant in the CIAO Program is assigned to a Transition Specialist (TS). The TS will work with the participant to explore and/or identify short-term employment goals and long-term career interests. The TS is often able to place participants into short-term training programs conducive to the employment or career goals of the participant. In some cases, participants will have to accomplish certain educational or employability skills goals prior to training being considered. This is done to maximize the chances of being placed into related employment opportunities after training is completed. | Vocational Education CIAO's Transition Specialists can assist participants in exploring Vocational Education opportunities. These are programs that prepare learners for jobs that are based in manual or practical activities. These opportunities may relate to a specific trade, occupation or vocation and is also sometimes referred to as a technical education, as the learner directly develops expertise in a particular group of techniques or technology. It is important to note that participants will typically need to obtain their high school diploma or GED before pursuing these opportunities. | At CIAO we understand the different obstacles youth in foster care face, so we have established a direct contact with Educational Partners that offer funding for youth in care and aging-out: - Educational Training Voucher (ETV)
The ETV program allows Michigan to provide up to $4,000 per year to a student in accredited programs such as: *College *Trade School *University Youth must be enrolled prior to his/her 21st birthday if youth meets the criteria. If the youth participated in the ETV program before his/her 21st birthday, eligibility continues until age 23 provided youth receives at least a 2.0 GPA. Accredited School Youth must attend an accredited school at least half time 1-877-660-METV (Click link for more information) www.mietv.lssm.org - University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
The Blavin Scholars was established in 2006 by Paul Amy Blavin to provide assistance to undergraduate Michigan students who have been a part of the Foster Care system. (734)763-6600 (Click link for more information) www.finaid.umich.edu - Western University – John Seita Scholarship
The John Seita Scholarship is a tuition scholarship that pays for tuition for youth in care of undergraduate courses at WMU. Books, fees, housing, food and other living expenses are not included in the scholarship; however, most or all of these costs may be covered by financial aid and available state support, thereby making it possible for a Seita Scholar to earn an undergraduate degree with little or no student loans. (Click link for more information) http://www.wmich.edu/fyit/scholarship.html |
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