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Problem / Issue

Synopsis:  In the current application, Foster Youth minors (students under age 19 are selecting "Guardian" in the Parent/Guardian Relationship field for lack of more accurate options - which is triggering a residency flag in Area B.

This issue was raised by the CO regarding complaints from colleges as to why certain foster youth students were being flagged as non-residents in CCCApply.  Patty Donohue met with the Chancellor's Office (Elena Alcala), Mia Keeley, Michael Q., and Debbie Raucher (John Burton Foundation) to discuss the foster youth issue and found that the issue was not with the Foster Youth question or logic in CCCApply, but rather it was directly related to the Parent/Guardian Information (Dependency Status) question, and the language that is provided to the student who is a foster youth and a minor who selects the option: "Dependent = None of the statements above is true about me." - which prompts the Parent/Guardian Information boxes to appear, and the user selects "Guardian" in the P/G Relationship field because there is no better option for them to select.  

When "Guardian" is selected in the P/G Relationship field - the Area B logic flags the student and requires the student to provide residency information about their Guardian. 

When a student is a Foster Youth - and under 19 or  when "none of the independent statements are true about them" - they don't have a good option to select when providing their P/G Info.  Having a legal guardian is a very different thing than being in foster care.  Therefore we deduced that this was the reason "foster youths" under age 19 are answering the Parent/Guardian Information question incorrectly; their selection of ) do not have a clear statement (bullet) to associate with when answering/determining whether they are Independent or Dependent on their parents (for residency purposes) in the Parent/Guardian Information section in CCCApply.  If they do not see a statement (bullet) in the list that pertains to them, they are selecting the option "None of these statements pertain to me" in error - and end up having to complete the "Parent or Guardian" dependency status - which creates another issue, as foster youth do not have parents or guardians, for the most part. 

When "Guardian" is selected in the P/G Relationship field - the Area B logic flags the student and requires the student to provide residency information about their Guardian. 

Proposed Solution

Updated solution 3.13.19:  Implement

1. ADD a new

1. bulleted option in the Parent/Guardian Information section (Dependency status of Minors)

1. under the option for: "One of the statements below is true about me" as follows:

Under the response option:  "At least one of the following statements is true about me."

I was in foster care at any time after my 13th birthday

(< ^ This was APPROVED & FINAL language as of 3.15.19)

Additional Information / Solution Discussion

Patty Donohue met with Elena Alcala and Debbie Raucher multiple times to identify the appropriate resolution to this issue. Below is the initial FINAL & APPROVED language and solution discussed on January 28 March 15, 2019 to mitigate this issue with the Parent/Guardian logic; and language was finalized via email on March 8 from same stakeholders:

Three options were discussed to rectify this problem in CCCApply:

1. Add a bullet to the onscreen text under - Independent = "At least one of the following statements is true about me." specifically for foster youth minors.

By choosing #3, a bullet would be added to the existing question and logic, thus simplifying the change in the current version of CCCApply. Adding a bullet and line of text would be the only change required to the application, and no required change to the existing residency logic that looks at the dependent student who is under the care and control of a legal Guardian. All existing Area B residency logic will stay the same.  The CO team will meet internally to further look at the law and discuss the most appropriate language to be added to CCCApply.  A follow-up meeting will be scheduled with Patty Donohue, CCCApply, to finalize the change request for June 2019 release.

User Story

1. the following statements is true about me." specifically for foster youth minors.

Adding a bullet and line of text would be the only change required to the application, and no required change to the existing residency logic that looks at the dependent student who is under the care and control of a legal Guardian. All existing Area B residency logic will stay the same.  The CO team will meet internally to further look at the law and discuss the most appropriate language to be added to CCCApply.  A follow-up meeting will be scheduled with Patty Donohue, CCCApply, to finalize the change request for June 2019 release.

User Story

Dependencies, Risks and/or Reporting Requirements?

Dependencies, Risks and/or Reporting Requirements?

Change Requirements

Add an additional bullet of language to the "At least one of the following statements is true about me" in the Parent/Guardian Information section on the Account Information/Mailing page for minors:  "I was in foster care at any time after my 13th birthday"

Change Requirements

1. Add an additional bullet of language to the "At least one of the following statements is true about me" in the Parent/Guardian Information section on the Account Information/Mailing page for minors:  "I was in foster care at any time after my 13th birthday"

   
   
   1. The additional bullet of text is:  "I was in foster care at any time after my 13th birthday"
   2. The additional bullet of text should appear within the list as shown below (after "I do not have a living parent or guardian"):
   3. The additional bullet of text should NOT affect any existing logic currently implemented 
   4. The additional bullet of text includes a hyperlink (underlined) that when clicked on should display the same help text that currently appears for "court-ordered foster care" in the Foster Youth question on the Residency page (see requirement #2 below).  
      
      

      New Additional Text appears in blue:
      
      

      •  At least one of the following statements is true about me:
        
        
      • I am or have been married
      • I am legally emancipated
      • I do not have a living parent or guardian
      • I was in foster care at any time after my 13th birthday
      • As of <rdd>, I will be on active duty in the armed services
      • As of <rdd>, I will have been self-supporting for at least one year
        
        
      •  None of the statements above is true about me

        
        

      
      

2. Add to the existing OR add a new Help pop-up box to display information that aligns to the words "foster care" - which appears within the new additional bullet being added in #1 above.
   (Specific requirement from the Chancellor's Office, "The text “foster care” should trigger a pop up Help box with the same language that pops up for "court-ordered foster care" in the Foster Youth Status question in the Residency page, shown below.)
   
   

This is the language that is currently used in the Help pop up box for "court-ordered foster care" in the Foster Youth Status question on the Residency page

This is the language that is currently used in the Help pop up box for "court-ordered foster care" in the Foster Youth Status question on the Residency page:

You have been in foster care if you were removed from your biological family through an order by a court, which can include placement with foster parents, in a group home, or with relatives/extended family members. If you were living with relatives you must have been placed through the foster care system by an order of the court. Foster Care includes, but is not limited to, placement in out-of-home care under the supervision of the Juvenile Probation Department. As long as you were placed within the foster care system by order of a court, you were in foster care. Having a legal guardian does not necessarily mean that you have been in foster care. If you need assistance with determining whether you were in foster care, you can contact the California Foster Care Ombudsman's office at (877) 846-1602 or fosteryouthhelp@dss.ca.gov.

3.  Update the "Dependent of Parent/Guardian" data element table in the Standard Application Data Dictionary per the changes made in this request AND update with any previous changes made (see the current data element table language below.  Everything in blue needs to be updated as part of this change update. 

Supporting Documentation

This is the current Parent/Guardian Information section that the new language should be added to.

Image Removed

Documentation Changes Required

Dependent of Parent/Guardian

Data Element:

dependent_status

Description:

Whether applicant is a minor subject to care and control of guardian per residency law—and if not, whether applicant is a non-minor or an independent minor.

Format, Length:

bpchar, 1

Values:

1 = Applicant is dependent.  Selected “None of the statements above is true about me.”

2 = Applicant is under 19 and independent.  Selected “At least one of these statements is true about me”.

3 = Applicant is 19 or older and therefore independent. The applicant will not have been presented with the parent/guardian questions.

Allows Null:

No

Default:

3

Usage:

If this field = 1, parent/guardian questions are asked and many residency-related questions are reworded to refer to parent/guardian rather than “you”.

Notes:

General law identifies a ‘Minor’ as under age 18; however, the “Evidence of Intent” rules in the Student Attendance Accounting Manual (Chapter 2), based on Title 5 section 54024, specify ‘under 19 years’ as the differentiating criterion, superseding general law.

personal_info table

Xap Field:

over19OrMarried

Revision Log:

~~

Question Text:

See mockup for Personal Information Screen.

Remove the note in the data table and replace with the language text that currently appears on screen:

By California law, qualification for resident tuition is based on the residency of your parent(s) or guardian(s) until you are 19 years of age, except in certain special circumstances. The following questions will be used to determine whether or not you need to provide parent or guardian information for the purposes of determining residency. Your response will not affect your admission to college.

Conditions:

Appears only if the applicant will be under 19 at RDD.

Additional Text:

•  At least one of the following statements is true about me

• I am or have been married
• I am legally emancipated
• I do not have a living parent or guardian
• I was placed or remained in court-ordered foster care at any time after my 13^th birthday
• As of <rdd>, I will be on active duty in the armed services
• As of <rdd>, I will have been self-supporting for at least one year

•  None of the statements above is true about me

Response Options:

Add the following to the DED, which currently has nothing listed other than the first sentence:

Must select one of the two radio buttons.

•  At least one of the following statements is true about me
•  None of the statements above is true about me

Pop-Up Help:

If any of the hyperlinks in the Question Text is clicked, a pop-up is displayed with the following text:

Parent: For the purposes of this college application, your parent is a natural or adoptive mother or father with whom you live and/or who provides your support, care, and control. If you have two parents, you can enter the name of either one.

Guardian: For the purposes of this college application, your guardian is a person other than a parent who has been legally appointed to provide your support, care, and control. If you have two guardians, you can enter the name of either one.

Emancipated: Being emancipated means that you have been legally released from the care and control of parent(s) and/or guardian(s), and are now responsible for your own care and control.

To be considered legally emancipated for the purposes of this college application, you must have received a declaration of emancipation from a California court, or have been legally emancipated in another U.S. state.

Self-Supporting:

You are considered to be self-supporting if you do not receive any financial support from a parent or legal guardian in the year leading up to the start of the term for which you are applying.

Financial support you may receive from colleges, institutions, or individuals who are not your parent or legal guardian does not affect whether you are considered self-supporting.

TBD - (not sure if we will add the court-ordered foster care help language to this pop-up box or not.  

:

You have been in foster care if you were removed from your biological family through an order by a court, which can include placement with foster parents, in a group home, or with relatives/extended family members. If you were living with relatives you must have been placed through the foster care system by an order of the court. Foster Care includes, but is not limited to, placement in out-of-home care under the supervision of the Juvenile Probation Department. As long as you were placed within the foster care system by order of a court, you were in foster care. Having a legal guardian does not necessarily mean that you have been in foster care. If you need assistance with determining whether you were in foster care, you can contact the California Foster Care Ombudsman's office at (877) 846-1602 or fosteryouthhelp@dss.ca.gov.

3.  DOCUMENTATION NOTE: Update the "Dependent of Parent/Guardian" data element table in the Standard Application Data Dictionary per the changes made in this request AND update with any previous changes made (see the current data element table language below.  Everything in blue needs to be updated as part of this change update. 

Supporting Documentation

Screenshots / Mockups

This is the current Parent/Guardian Information section that the new language should be added to.

Image Added

Documentation Changes Required

Dependent of Parent/Guardian

Parent/Guardian Name: First

Parent/Guardian Name: Last

Parent/Guardian Relationship