Cooperating Agencies Foster Youth Educational Support Program

Cooperating Agencies Foster Youth Educational Support Program

Application to Participate Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

Question 1: How can I be added to the distribution list to receive Cooperating Agencies Foster Youth Educational Support (CAFYES) program information? Answer: The Chancellor’s Office administers a CAFYES listserv for California Community College staff. Instructions for requesting to join can be obtained from the Chancellor’s Office web page:

Question 2: Is our district eligible to apply if it does not use CCCApply? Answer: Yes.

Question 3: Will single college districts be competitive against multiple college districts in the CAFYES award process? Answer: Due to statutory requirements, CAFYES application scores are weighted toward applications that propose to serve large numbers of eligible students. It is possible that some single college districts may be competitive with some multiple-college districts. The CCCCO encourages both single and multiple-college districts to submit robust and thoughtful applications. The CCCCO alsoencourages districts from all regions of the State to apply, as we wish to encourage geographic diversity.

Question 4: What percentage of foster youth are in care after age 16, by county? Answer: You are welcome to conduct research to learn the answer to this and other demographic questions. The California Child Welfare Indicators Project database is a good place to start:

Question 5: Where can I review current CAFYES program standards? Answer: Because CAFYES is a component program of Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS), most EOPS program standards also apply to CAFYES. You may review current EOPS and CAFYES Implementing Guidelines on the Chancellor’s Office web page:

Question 6: Will you please provide me a copy of the score sheets that will be used by readers? Answer: No. Please review the ATP, “Instructions and Specifications, Item G., “Rubric/Scoring Criteria” (pp. 10-11), and Item I., “Application Scoring,” for scoring information.

Question 7: Can I receive a receipt confirming that my district’s application is received? Answer: If the sender of your district’s e-mailed application uses an e-mail return receipt function, Chancellor’s Office staff will acknowledge receipt when prompted to do so.

Question 8: Ultimately, will CAFYES programs be administered at every community college? Answer: The Legislature approved the Chancellor’s Office to administer CAFYES programs at up to 20 community college districts. It is unknown if it will pass future legislation to allow CAFYES to expand beyond that legal maximum.

Question 9: What is the anticipated schedule for future competitive processes to expand CAFYES to additional districts? Answer: No future schedule exists.

Application to Participate (ATP)

Collaboration

Question 1: In reference to the “collaborative partnerships with both internal and external partners” mentioned in Item 5 on p. 4, does this speak to cross-agency or cross-campus partners? Answer: Both.

Question 2: How can districts administering CAFYES programs work with external partners without violating Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act requirements? Answer: By obtaining a signed waiver from participating students and creating Memorandums of Understanding with external collaborative partners.

Question 3: Within the ATP, both Collaborations and Statement of Experience are identified as #6. Should “Collaborations” be treated as a continuance of “Statement of Experience” when writing applications? Answer: No. “Collaborations” should have been identified as a distinct item, #7, with every subsequent item numbered one higher. Please also review the ATP, “Instructions and Specifications, Item G., “Rubric/Scoring Criteria,” for further information about required application components and how they will be evaluated.

Service Numbers

Question 1: Will my district’s application, and the service numbers articulated within it, be evaluated in comparison to applications submitted from my region or Statewide? Answer: Both. Please see the ATP, p.10, for information about scoring and regional diversity.

Question 2: What are the criteria for identifying foster youth for program services? Answer: Please see pp. 6-7 of the ATP for instructions regarding identifying potentially eligible foster youth for program services.

Question 3: Can we include the projected number of students we intend to serve? Answer: No. Please review the ATP, “Service Numbers,” p. 7: “Your estimate must be based on a reconciled, unduplicated subset of presently enrolled current and former foster youth who are under age 26, taking 9 or more units, and who participated in the foster care system on or after age 16.”

Question 4: May currently enrolled EOPS students who are eligible for CAFYES be included in our service numbers estimate? Answer: Yes.

Question 5: On p. 7 of the ATP, when referencing the reconciled, unduplicated subset of presently enrolled current and former foster youth, does this mean students enrolled in 2017-18 or Spring 2018? Answer: Spring 2018.

Program Eligibility

Question 1: Do undocumented or AB540 students who are members of the target population qualify for funds or tuition? Answer: All CAFYES students must meet eligibility requirements depicted in section 56403 of the CAFYES Implementing Guidelines (ATP, Appendix B, Item 3 and located on the Chancellor’s Office web page: AB540 students who meet all CAFYES eligibility criteria are eligible to participate in CAFYES.

Question 2: On ATP p. 7, are “self-identified” students those students identified by a campus process or those students who self-identify to program staff? Answer: Either or both.

Question 3: How do college CAFYES programs verify that potentially eligible students fulfill the criterion to have participated in the foster care system on or after age 16? Answer: Please review article 2, section 56403, “Eligibility for Programs and Services,” within the CAFYES Guidelines (ATP Appendix B, Item 3), to identify the four different ways college CAFYES programs may confirm current or former participation in the foster care system. The CAFYES Guidelines document may be found on the Chancellor’s Office web page:

Program Design

Question 1: Do CAFYES counseling contacts count towards fulfilling required EOPS counseling contacts? Answer: Yes. Please review the CAFYES Guidelines, sec. 56406, “Specialized Support Services,” Item 3, “Academic, Guidance and Personal Counseling,” for more information about CAFYES counseling requirements.

Question 2: Does CAFYES have a required or recommended staffing structure? No. Colleges develop individualized staffing structures based on program design, program size and leveraging other resources.

Question 3: Shall applicants include staffing and direct aid strategies in the Program Design section of their applications, despite the fact that initial, project based start-up funds cannot be spent on staff salaries and benefits, and direct aid to students? Answer: Yes, if desired. Please review p. 8 and p.11 of the ATP for Program Design criterion information. Also review p. 1 and p. 3 of the ATP for information on ongoing funding provided to CAFYES colleges that may be spent on all operating expenses, including staff salaries and benefits, and direct aid to students.

Technical Requirements

Question 1: May applicants multiply the maximum number of pages by each college included in the application in all application sections? Answer: Yes.

Question 2: Must our application be approved by our district’s Board? Answer: Only if required locally, by your district and its Board.

Question 3: Must the abstract also be written in 12 point Calibri font, double-line spaced, and have a 1-inch margin? Answer: Yes.

Question 4: Should items required by the ATP, other than the narrative sections, also be included in the Table of Contents? Answer: Yes.

Question 5: Should the Signature page(s) follow the Contact page(s)? Answer: Yes.

Question 6: Must charts, tables and footnotes be double line -spaced within our application? Answer: No.

Question 7: Must charts, tables and footnotes be in 12 point Calibri font? Answer: Yes.

Question 8: May we treat the multiple campuses administered by one of our colleges as “colleges,” for page count purposes, thus increasing the number of pages allowed within our application? Answer: No. Page counts may be multiplied by college only, without regard to the number of college campuses or centers.

Question 9: May information from each college contained within the district application of a multiple college district organized independently, with the district application containing multiple, back-to-back college applications? Answer: No.

Scoring

Question 1: Are the colleges contained within multiple- college district applications scored independently? Answer: No. Applications submitted by district applicants are scored holistically.

Awards

Question 1: Will one district per region be awarded funding? Answer: No. Please see p. 10 of the ATP for information on how geographic diversity is embedded in the award process.

Question 2: Will districts proposing to serve the greatest number of foster youth be funded first? Answer: Please review the ATP, “Instructions and Specifications, Item G. Rubric/Scoring Criteria”, pp. 10-11, regarding the weight given to service numbers in scoring and the embedded process to regionally distribute CAFYES programs.

Funding

Question 1: As per the ATP, p. 12, can project-based, start-up funds be used to hire staff? Answer: No. The initial funding provided selected districts and colleges prior to the end of 2017-18, required to be spent by June 30, 2019, cannot be spent on staff salaries, staff benefits, or direct aid to students. Information about ongoing funds that may be spent on all operating expenses, including salaries and direct aid to students,is presented on p.1 and p. 3 of the ATP.

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