Caregivers (licensed and unlicensed), Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs), Guardian Ad Litems, caseworkers and family members are invited to apply for an award on behalf of a child in foster care. If a caseworker applies for a youth on their caseload, a different caseworker must confirm the childs status in foster care. Vendors may not apply for funding.

AFFCF only considers grant requests for children who have been adjudicated dependent wards of the court in Arizona. AFFCF does not fund grant requests for voluntary placements. Special consideration may be made if the child has been a temporary ward or in voluntary placement for an unusually extended period of time.

No, you do not have to be a licensed caregiver to receive assistance from AFFCF. The only requirement for eligibility to request an award is that the child must be a ward of the state of Arizona.

AFFCF funds a variety of athletic, educational and social activities for children in foster care. To see a list of activities we can fund, please see our award guidelines.

We do not fund any of the following requests:

• Applications requesting reimbursement for anything paid for prior to receiving approval
• Children who have officially been adopted or are not currently wards of the court in Arizona
• Airfare, family vacations or travel expenses
• Birthday parties, gifts, food or toys
• Debt relief (i.e. home bills, utilities, etc.)
• Electronic equipment (computers, tablets stereos, electronic games, TV, etc.)
• Furniture (i.e. beds, cribs, etc.) or home fixtures
• Memberships to a gym or community center
• Modeling or modeling classes
• Any type of medical expense
• Services or benefits that are available from other public, private, or governmental agencies (daycare, preschool, counseling services, wheel chairs, healthcare, legal aid, etc.)

You simply need to complete our application. Along with the application, we require documentation from the vendor/provider (a flyer, a screenshot of a website, an email from the vendor/provider, etc.) that shows the cost of the activity/service. Our application also requires the contact information for the child’s DCS/tribal caseworker as we do verify that the child is a ward of the state of Arizona. For tutoring assistance requests, we do ask for additional documentation. Please see our award guidelines for more details.

If your request falls within our guidelines, it will be approved once we’ve received documentation and a response from the caseworker. PLEASE NOTE THAT AFFCF CANNOT CONSIDER FUNDING ANYTHING THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN PAID FOR PRIOR TO RECEIVING APPROVAL FOR THAT SPECIFIC REQUEST.

Once AFFCF receives the application and it has been approved, AFFCF will send a congratulatory e-mail to the applicant notifying them of approval with a mail-back receipt form attached. After making your purchase, we request that you return the form with original receipts for reimbursement by mail or drop-off at our office. Please note that no purchase can be made until receiving the congratulatory e-mail.

Generally, it takes about 10 – 14 days from the time you submit your request until the time a check is cut and mailed to you, give or day a few days.

To make the award process run as smoothly as possible, make sure to attach the cost documentation to your request. We also recommend contacting the child’s caseworker to let him or her know you are requesting assistance from AFFCF and ask them to respond to our email.

When it comes to funding ongoing activities, AFFCF can only fund one activity at a time per child. The only exception for an activity is swimming because it is prioritized as a survival skill. While there is no overall limit on the number of applications that can be submitted, certain restrictions in place based on the type of request being made.

If your request doesn’t fall within our guidelines, AFFCF cannot fund your request. If we are unable to fund your request, please take a look at our Resource Guide to see if assistance might be available elsewhere.