Are parents who already have a BA degree eligible for WorkFirst Financial Aid?

There is no barrier in policy that would prevent funding an existing TANF participant WorkFirst Financial Aid solely on the existence of a bachelors degree.

In fact, it’s recognized that the existing degree may be from an international source that would require retraining in order to be eligible for certification or employment or/or to allow for successful job search when previous degree content may be obsolete relative to current employment options.

However, while we are able to fund the participant, we must also consider leveraging other resources to support training completion. Typically WorkFirst Financial Aid is utilized as a resource to begin training, and participants are strongly encouraged to immediately apply for federal financial aid.

An existing bachelors degree could render an applicant ineligible for grants. So it is important to assist parents to either choose a program that can be completed in a relatively short period of time or help them to access a more permanent funding source that would limit the necessity to take on student loans which could result in excessive debt.