Parents as Scholars: Helping Parents Get an Education

Parents as Scholars (PAS) helps support parents who are or will be undergraduates in beginning or continuing a two- or four-year degree program.

Parents in PAS can get cash assistance (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)). They can also get other benefits such as help with child care and transportation. In some circumstances, parents in PAS can get up to $100 per academic term or semester to help pay for books and supplies. DHS cannot pay for tuition or fees for a parent in PAS.

You might qualify for PAS if you:

• Are a parent applying for or getting Temporary Assistance for Needy families (TANF) and
• Are or will be an undergraduate beginning or completing a two- or four-year degree program and
• Can show as part of the PAS application how completion of your schooling is likely to result in employment that provides the wages and benefits needed for you to support your family without TANF.

A PAS participant must go to a school that is:

• Approved by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, by its regional equivalent or by the appropriate official, department or agency of the state or nation in which the institution is located and is
• A four-year college or university; a junior college or community college; or a technical, professional or career school.

A PAS participant must also:

• Provide documentation of satisfactory progress in school to DHS.
• Provide attendance as required by DHS.
• Remain enrolled in school full-time unless there is good cause.

Applying for PAS

Download a PAS application (Word) (PDF) and more information about the PAS requirements or talk to a DHS Self-Sufficiency worker in your local office.

For other helpful links, please also see:

• DHS - http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/
• Assistance programs - http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/assistance/
• Northwest Commission on Colleges & Universities (NWCCU) - http://www.nwccu.org/Directory%20of%20Inst/State%20Map/Oregon/Oregon.htm
• Oregon Student Assistance Commission (OSAC) - http://www.osac.state.or.us/
• Get College Funds (OSAC) - http://getcollegefunds.org/
• Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) - http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
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