Education
FAFSA/CADAA Tracking Tools for LEAs and FYSCPs
Below are tools that local educational agencies (LEAs) and County Office of Education (COE) Foster Youth Services Coordinating Programs (FYSCPs) can use to track FAFSA and CADAA completion among high school seniors who are in foster care or experiencing homelessness. These tools provide student-level data on FAFSA/CADAA and Chafee Grant application status, as well as CalKIDS Scholarship data for students in grades 9–12.
FAFSA/CADAA Completion Internal Tracking Sheet – This Excel document is a tool to assist FYSCPs or LEAs in tracking high school seniors in foster care or students experiencing homelessness as they enter and exit the county over the course of the school year. It also assists with tracking FAFSA/CADAA completion and reporting accurate completion data. [Updated September 2025]
Instructions for Verifying FAFSA/CADAA Completion – FAFSA and CADAA completion is tracked through WebGrants, a database managed by the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC). FYSCPs and LEAs can choose between two methods to verify FAFSA/CADAA completion using WebGrants.
- The first requires a log-in credential to access WebGrants for Institutions. Instructions for requesting a log-in credential and verifying FAFSA/CADAA completion via WebGrants for Institutions can be found here.
- The second option utilizes a secure file transfer system that is connected but external to the WebGrants database and does not require a log-in credential. This option allows FYSCPs to upload a spreadsheet of their foster youth high school seniors and download a data-matched spreadsheet indicating which students have submitted a FAFSA or CADAA. Additional instructions on using the secure file transfer system can be found here and in the video tutorials below. FYSCPs can contact
FYSCPS and LEAs can contact CSAC via e-mail at [email protected] to set up the secure file transfer system.
Video tutorial: How to Configure WinSCP for initial setup
Video tutorial: How to Upload a File using WinSCP to verify FAFSA/CADAA completion
How to Interpret the WinSCP FAFSA/CADAA Data Match
The instructions in this document are for County Offices of Education and Local Education Agencies that utilize the WinSCP secure file transfer system to verify financial aid application completion for foster and homeless students. The examples are intended to help users interpret the data match from the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC), troubleshoot issues, and ensure that students have successfully completed their applications.