Department of Children and Families (DCF) Adopted Child Tuition Waiver and Fee Assistance Program

*The following is a brief description for students. Institutions should refer to the most recent guidelines for information.

The DCF Adopted Child Tuition Waiver and Fee Assistance Program is designed to lessen the financial burden on adopting parents in the Commonwealth. This waiver extends eligibility to all children and young adults, age twenty-four or under, adopted through DCF by state employees or eligible Massachusetts residents, regardless of the date of adoption. The tuition and fee waiver encompasses 100% of tuition and fees for state-supported courses, subject to budgetary appropriation, at all of the Massachusetts public institutions of higher education, excluding graduate courses and courses in the MD program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.

Who Is Eligible?

To be eligible for the DCF Adopted Child Tuition Waiver and Fee Assistance Program, a student must:

• Have approved eligibility status as a “High School Completer,” ¹ per the Massachusetts tuition equity law, ² or be a U.S. Citizen, permanent legal resident, or non-citizen eligible under Title IV regulations.
• Have applied for financial aid, using the standard Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or a FAFSA equivalent application authorized by the Department of Higher Education.
• Not be in default of any federal or state Student Loans for attendance at any institution or owe a refund for any previous financial aid received.
• Be enrolled full time, half time, or part time in an eligible program or is taking an eligible course as defined.
• Not have received a prior bachelor's degree or its equivalent.
• Be maintaining satisfactory academic progress in accordance with institutional and federal standards.
• Be twenty-four years of age or under at the start of the academic year.
• Be in the custody of the DCF and have been adopted by an eligible Massachusetts state employee or by an eligible Massachusetts resident through the DCF.
  • Eligible state employees shall include all full- and part-time Massachusetts state government employees employed by the state, for at least six months at the time of the adoption. Employees must be working for the state at the time of the adoption and continued to be employed by the state for at least six months after the adoption.
  • Eligible Massachusetts residents shall include all individuals determined to be Massachusetts state residents at the time of adoption of the eligible student.
    

¹ See www.mass.edu/tuitionequity for more details.

² Pursuant to Section 9 of Chapter 15A, as amended by Section 11 of Chapter 28 of the Acts of 2023.

Eligible Institutions

An eligible institution is within the system of public higher education under Section 5 Chapter 15A of the General Laws.

* An eligible course is any state-supported course offered by an institution at a public college or university, excluding all graduate courses and courses in the MD program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Eligible courses include those toward an undergraduate degree program, certificate program, short-term certificate program, and non-credit courses. Institutions are encouraged to develop waiver programs for eligible students that would provide a 50% tuition waiver for any non-state-supported course and/or certificate programs.

Award Amounts

Students eligible for the DCF Adopted Child Tuition Waiver and Fee Assistance program will be entitled to a tuition waiver and fee assistance equal to 100% of the resident rate, subject to budgetary appropriation, for eligible state-supported courses offered at the participating public higher education institutions.

Click here to view the full value of tuition waivers, by school, for a full-time student in the current academic year.

How to Apply

For more information on initial eligibility and to obtain all eligibility documentation, contact the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families at (617) 748-2000 or subsidy.unit@mass.gov.

For complete program guidelines, contact the Massachusetts Office of Student Financial Assistance at (617) 391-6070.

DCF Student Eligibility Checklist (PDF)
Tuition Waiver Guidelines (PDF)