DCFS awards record number of college scholarships for youth in care

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — Over 350 current and former youth in care received college scholarships from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Friday. The program covers up to five years of tuition and mandatory fee waivers for universities, community colleges and trade schools.

DCFS has traditionally awarded an average of 50 scholarships each year. However, this year's graduating class of 352 scholarship winners topped the 2023 record of 259 recipients.

"The fact that you've achieved the excellence you have achieved in the face of barriers and challenges and trauma is truly remarkable," said DCFS Director Heidi Mueller.

State lawmakers included $11.16 million in the Fiscal Year 2025 budget to fund the DCFS scholarships, compared to $5.66 million for the scholarships during Fiscal Year 2024. The Pritzker administration explained this funding can help students with tuition, books, a monthly grant payment for other life expenses and an Illinois Medicaid card.

"For as much as some people talk about your generation, you don't hear enough about the passion, the ingenuity, the resilience that you all show every single day," said Gov. JB Pritzker. "These are the impressions that you leave with me when I speak with you individually and I hear your voices. I can feel your potential."

Four scholarships are reserved for children of veterans and two of the awards are given to students pursuing degrees in social work in honor of Deidre Silas and Pamela Knight. Both women were DCFS caseworkers killed in the line of duty, but their memory lives on through future leaders.

"As your governor, I could not be prouder of you," Pritzker told recipients. "I have made it my mission to ensure the next generation of Illinoisans has every opportunity needed to thrive. Being with you today is a reminder of how important that mission really is."

DCFS scholarship recipients are selected based on their scholastic record, extracurricular activities, three letters of recommendation and a personal essay showing their purpose for higher education.