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:

Please refer to the PDF DCF Student Eligibility Checklist

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

You must obtain eligibility documentation from the Department of Children and Families and present it to your campus financial aid office for consideration. Contact the DHE’s Office of Student Financial Assistance at (617) 391-6070 to obtain more information and to inquire about application requirements or deadlines.

PDF Tuition Waiver Guidelines