Eligibility

To be eligible for the Grant Programs for Dependents of Police or Fire Officers or for Dependents of Correctional Officers, a student must be either:

• the natural child, legally adopted child, or child in the legal custody of an Illinois correctional officer or police or fire officer at the time the officer was permanently disabled or killed in the line of duty; or
• the husband or wife of an Illinois correctional officer or police or fire officer at the time the officer was permanently disabled or killed in the line of duty.  Common law partners are not eligible.

A student:

• must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen;
• must be enrolled on at least a half-time basis at an institution that is approved for participation in the Monetary Award Program (MAP);
• must be making satisfactory academic progress toward a degree or certificate;
• need not be a resident of Illinois at the time of enrollment; and
• does not have to demonstrate financial need to receive the grant.

An applicant is ineligible if he or she is:

• either a spouse who remarries after a correctional officer or police or fire officer is killed in the line of  duty, or is a spouse who divorces a permanently disabled correctional officer or police or fire officer; or
• a stepchild who, at the time of an officer's death or permanent disability in the line of duty, was not in the legal custody of the correctional officer or police or fire officer.

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