Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund helps single-parent students attain self-sufficiency through post-secondary education or skilled trade certification. Applicants for ASPSF funding are enrolled in a career-focused college, university, or skilled trade certificate program and meet ASPSF universal eligibility criteria
www.aspsf.org/eligibility including an income of not more than 250% of Federal Poverty Guidelines.
The scholarships awarded by ASPSF are not scholarships in the traditional sense but important financial support for the family while the single parent is in school. Funds may be used for any combination of school and/or household expenses that removes a financial burden and helps the single parent student stay in school. This could be anything from tuition and books to rent and utilities or even car repairs, a laptop purchase or repair, gas for traveling to and from school, or home internet service, which has become so critical as classes have moved online during the current pandemic.
As the children of these single parents witness their parent working hard to pursue a better life for their family through education, the likelihood of them pursuing higher education after their own high school completion increases, often breaking a generational cycle of poverty.
In addition to the challenges faced due to the pandemic, in a
normal environment, single-parent students are one crisis away from homelessness, significant food insecurity, and other poverty indicators that will require additional support from state and federal resources. When low-income single parents remain in school, finish their degree, and have the skills needed to secure employment at a livable wage, they can support their children and contribute to local and state economies. As the children of single-parent students watch their parent persevere toward their goals, the children's educational aspirations increase.