Special Populations
The Special Population office is designed to assist students with support services, resource referrals, customized workshops, and life skills. The program provides effective guidance to assist students in overcoming barriers to stay in school and achieve their career goals.
Special Populations serves students enrolled in Career and Technical Occupation programs and are members of one of the following Special Populations:
- Single Parent and/or Single Pregnant Woman: An individual who is unmarried or separated from a spouse, AND has sole or joint custody of a minor child/children, AND/OR expecting the birth of a child.
- Non-Traditional Career Trainee: An individual enrolled in an occupational program that has traditionally been underrepresented by his/her gender.
- Individual with Limited English Proficiency: An individual who has limited ability in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language AND whose native language is not English.
- Individual with a Disability: An individual who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
- Economically Disadvantaged: An individual from economically disadvantaged families, including foster children. This individual must be one or more of the following: Pell Grant or other need-based financial assistance recipients.
- Homeless Individuals: Homeless means lacking fixed, regular and adequate housing. You may be homeless if you are living in shelters, parks, motels, hotels, public spaces, camping grounds, cars, abandoned buildings, or temporarily living with other people because you have no place else to go. Also, if you are living in any of these situations and fleeing an abusive parent you may be considered homeless even if your parent would otherwise provide a place to live.
- Youth In or Aged Out of Foster Care System: This includes but is not limited to: Placements in foster care homes, foster homes of relatives, group homes, emergency shelters, residential facilities, child care institutions, and preadoptive homes.
- Out of workforce individual (Formerly Displaced Homemaker): An individual who is under-employed or unemployed and Is experiencing difficulty in obtaining employment or upgrading employment, AND/OR (1) Has worked primarily without remuneration to care for a home and family, and for that reason has diminished marketable skills; AND/OR (2) Has been dependent upon the income of another family member but is no longer supported by that income; AND/OR (3) Is a parent whose youngest dependent child will become ineligible to receive assistance under Part A of Title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) not later than 2 years after the date on which the parent applies for assistance under this Title.
Our staff helps you:
- Transition into the college setting
- Help acquire financial assistance (tuition, fees and required books)
Our staff offers counseling and referrals to community resources in areas of need such as:
- Assessment testing & evaluation
- Counseling
- Tutoring
- Occupational information on non-traditional careers
Students may initiate their own use of these services or may be referred by college staff, faculty, area high school counselors, social agency personnel, or other professionals.