30:4C-103 Eligibility requirements for program.

3. a. A child shall be eligible to qualify for the program if the child meets the following requirements at the time of the initial application to the Commissioner of Children and Families for a tuition waiver pursuant to subsection b. of this section:

(1) the child is 16 to 23 years of age;

(2) the child:

(a) has been in the care and custody of the Division of Youth and Family Services in the Department of Children and Families for a period of nine months or more following the child's sixteenth birthday;

(b) is or has been residing in an independent living arrangement, or a transitional living program established pursuant to P.L.1999, c.224 (C.9:12A-2 et seq.), operated or approved for payment by the division; or

(c) is or has been residing in a transitional living program located in the State of New Jersey and approved for payment by the federal government pursuant to the federal "Runaway and Homeless Youth Act," Title III of Pub.L.93-415 (42 U.S.C.A. s.5701 et seq.);

(3) the child has received a high school diploma or a certificate of high school equivalency; and

(4) the child has been granted admission to a New Jersey public institution of higher education or county vocational school.

b. A child who meets the eligibility requirements listed in this section may apply to the Commissioner of Children and Families for a tuition waiver in a form and manner prescribed by the commissioner.

c. Upon receipt of an application, the Commissioner of Children and Families shall review the application and if the child meets the program eligibility requirements, the commissioner shall approve the application and notify the appropriate New Jersey public institution of higher education or county vocational school that the child qualifies for a tuition waiver.

d. Eligibility for the program shall be limited to five years from the date the child applied to the Commissioner of Children and Families for a tuition waiver pursuant to subsection b. of this section.

e. Each child approved for the program shall be required to enroll in a full-time degree, diploma or certificate program or course of undergraduate study and retain satisfactory academic progress during the time the child qualifies for a tuition waiver.

L.2003, c.132, s.3; amended 2006, c.47, s.157.