Scholarships for Dependents of Correctional Officers
- Numerous states sponsor scholarship programs specifically for law enforcement and correctional officers or their dependents. California offers the Law Enforcement Personnel Dependents Grant Program, which extends eligibility to the spouses and children of firefighters, police officers and correctional officers disabled or killed in the line of duty. The needs-based LEPD program offers awards up to $11,259 per school year, as of June 2011, for a maximum of four years. The State of Illinois sponsors the Grant Program for Dependents of Correctional Officers to the spouses and children of Illinois correctional officers disabled or killed on the job. The Illinois program helps pay tuition and school fees for students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs at Illinois postsecondary institutions.
- Certain local organizations offer scholarships for the dependents of emergency service personnel and law enforcement officers. The Bucks County Heroes Scholarship Fund in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, for example, sponsors scholarships for the children of Bucks County correctional officers, firefighters and police officers disabled or killed while serving. The Heroes program offers full and partial scholarships, but awards may vary from year to year depending on funding. The Washtenaw One Hundred Club in Ann Arbor, Michigan, sponsors scholarships for the sons and daughters of active Washtenaw County corrections officers, firefighters and police officers. The Washtenaw program awards up to 10 scholarships per year.
- National nonprofit law enforcement organizations often sponsor scholarship programs. The Correctional Peace Officers Foundation, for instance, awards scholarships to relatives of currently working and retired corrections personnel. Candidates must hold U.S. citizenship, or qualify as a legal non-citizen, and attend school full-time. The CPOF program only awards scholarships to students who have not previously earned a bachelor's degree, and requires candidates to have a minimum grade point average of 2.5. Applicants must have a financial need for funding to receive CPOF awards.
- Labor unions representing correctional officers often administer student aid programs for their members or dependents of their members. The Correction Officers' Benevolent Association, for example, represents correctional officers in New York City and offers the COBA Carl Rachlin Scholarship to its members and children of members. The COBA program awards scholarships to children attending primary and secondary schools and students enrolled in college. As of June 2011, qualified candidates can receive up to $1,000 through the COBA scholarship program. According to COBA, it has awarded scholarship funding totaling more than $270,000 since 1996.
