A new opportunity for Undocumented Students: Dream Act Service Incentive Grant
Chaffey College has taken in consideration its undocumented students and initiated a program that allows them to work in their career field and giving an incentive grant for their community hours.
By Jocelyn Garcia Vega
According to the Chaffey College website Resources for Undocumented Students, “At Chaffey College, we have approximately 1,000 AB 540 students on our campuses...approximately 24,300 undocumented residents in Upland, Montclair, Ontario, Chino and Chino Hills alone as of 2018.”
Undocumented students have to face a multitude of obstacles that is not only limited to social struggles. According to Studentcaffe.com, undocumented students face "financial obstacles: High poverty rates for undocumented immigrants, no access to some forms of financial aid and private loans require a citizen cosigner" along with also legal obstacles such as "Temporary or no authorization to work, no social security number and no path to citizenship or permanent residency"
With the unknown future of DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, there are very few opportunities that give such students the ability to gain work experience within their own field of studies.
Chaffey College Dream Act Service Incentive program first took action in the fall of 2022 and it has continued to be active.
The program gives the student a grant for their volunteer work in the qualifying department. This does not mean that the student is working, it is just an incentive for their volunteer work.
The California Students Aid Commission will award up to $4,500 per academic year, (up to $2,250 per semester or up to $1,500 per quarter)
The grant will be available for up to 8 semesters or up to 12 quarters while they have an active Cal Grant A or B award.
The next are requirements that the students have to qualify in order to submit an application:
-Students have to submit a California Dream Application
-Qualify for Cal Grant A and meets eligibility for Cal Grant B
- Student has at least $4,500 of financial unmet need to be eligible to receive up to $2,500 per semester or up to $1,500 per quarter.
In order to request a payment for the community hours, the students has to complete at least 150 hours per semester or 100 hours per quarter.
They will only award this to 1,667 eligible students.
This is not financial advice. Any students who are interested in the program would have to contact the financial aid office. They will be able to advise whether the program is correct for the student.
For further information, please contact the financial aid office or one of the following advisors.
Mayra Ramirez (She/Her/Ella)
Financial Aid Program Assistant
Email:Mayra.RamirezSantiago@chaffey.edu
Hablo Español/UndocuAlly
Office: Fontana Campus
Fabiola Espitia (She/Her/Ella)
Counselor, Counseling and Student Support Programs
Hablo Español
DREAMers Ally
Lorie Vazquez(SHE/HER/ELLA)
Residency Advisor
Email:lorie.vazquez@chaffey.edu
Office: 5885 Haven Ave Rancho Cucamonga Ca, 91737
Myra Andrade (SHE/HER/ELLA)
Counseling Faculty
Counseling and Student Support Programs: EOPS
Phone:+19096526341
Email: Myra.Andrade@chaffey.edu
Office: MACC-205E
EOPS
Fontana
Hablo Español
#UndocuAlly
Q&A
Q- Does the student need to attend school all week to complete the hours?
A- The advisor and head of the department that the student is assigned will work around the students schedule to make it work, it can be before, in-between and after class and other variations.
Q- what happens if the students doesn't get a 2.00 GPA one semester right before starting the program?
A- It all depends on the situation, the advisor will let the student know if they still qualify for the program. There can be a warning for the student to improve their GPA the upcoming semester.