Grace Smith, USA Funds
Mary Ciulei, Arizona State University
Terri Eckel & Erin Grisham, Northern Arizona University

Arizona School Counselor Association Conference
AASFAA hosted a booth at the 14th Annual Arizona School Counselors Association Conference. The event was held on March 14, 2003 at the Mesa Conference Center. The event reached approx. 250 – 275 school counselors statewide. Grace Smith, Kim Naig and Diane Aurenz volunteered their time for booth duty. We shared our new AASFAA handout and provided other financial aid materials.

The counselors appreciated our participation, our expertise and materials. A drawing was held for AASFAA’s $250.00 scholarship donation. Rincon High School was the lucky winner and Roxanne Taylor a counselor at that school accepted the award on behalf of a deserving student.

Federal Action on Vouchers for Post-secondary Education
Congress passed the FFY 2003 budget with $42 million appropriated to support post-secondary education and training for young adults transitioning from foster care. (Original request was for $60 million.) This program is expected to help young adults aging out of foster care to develop the necessary skills leading to independent and productive lives. Vouchers of up to $5000 per year for education or vocational training are authorized.

Federal instructions will be forthcoming. Exact allocation for Arizona is not known at this time; and the federal instructions will provide more information on implementation issues for the states.

This is a great accomplishment in light of the tight budgetary times!

Information provided by:  Beth Rosenberg, Children's Action Alliance