Students can now apply for the Education and Training Voucher (ETV) and the All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship (AIOS)
Jump start your educational journey by filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®).
Iowa Skilled Trades may have an alternative for you. Learning a trade can offer you personal fulfillment, high salary potential, and job stability.
Iowa offers numerous options to help cut out-of-pocket expenses for your education - many that you do not have to pay back!
AMP is a statewide group that seeks to unleash the full potential for personal growth among foster and adoptive youth, age 13-21, in Iowa.
The OPT-in College Access Network for System-Involved Youth
An initiative that seeks to increase the number of youth, who have been under the supervision of the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, that earn a post-secondary credential including college and trade schools.
Richard & Linda Harrell
Richard and Linda’s greatest desire while serving as foster parents was to ensure that those children placed in their care would not have to be concern about having to move from placement to placement. Their greatest goal while fostering these young ladies was to help them graduate high school and prepare them for college. While many were not long-term placements with the Harrell’s all the girls can attest hearing over and over, “You can be anything you want to be, if you just put your mind to it.”
Our Goals
Utilizing a collective impact framework, OPT-in will impact systems-level change to ensure that these youth have the necessary supports, resources, and opportunities to achieve their postsecondary education goals.
By 2025, OPT-in College Access Network will work to increase the number of youth formerly in foster care who:
High School Completion
Have a HS diploma or equivalent
Postsecondary Attendance
Attend postsecondary by age 19
Postsecondary Persistence
Received ETV and return for 2nd year