Planning for college or career training? The Education and Training Voucher (ETV) program can help eligible students with experience in foster care pay for education and related expenses. Samaritas administers Michigan’s ETV program.
Use this toolkit to explore eligibility, prepare your application, and connect with help.
ETV offers up to $5,000 per year for eligible education and training expenses. Your award depends on your circumstances and available funding.
Approved expenses may include:
Ask Samaritas about your specific expenses before making a purchase or counting on funding.
Michigan’s eligibility guidelines include:
Start early: Michigan’s guidance says to begin participating in ETV before turning 21. Eligible participants may continue until their 26th birthday, for a maximum of five fiscal years. Continued eligibility includes academic progress requirements, including a 2.0 cumulative GPA.
Not sure whether you qualify? Contact Samaritas to review your situation—including questions about your foster care history, age, enrollment, or grades.
Visit the Michigan ETV website to find application information and get started.
You can also contact the ETV team:
Phone: 1-877-660-6388
ETV Coordinator: Tanya Maki
Email: tmaki@samaritas.org
Ask which application materials and submission steps apply to you.
Use this checklist to get organized:
Confirm the current requirements with Samaritas before submitting.
Missing something? Ask the ETV team where to start. Your school’s financial aid office or campus support contact may also help you locate documents.
After submitting your materials:
Need a starting point? Try:
“Hi! I’m interested in ETV and would like help getting started. Can you tell me what I need to submit and what happens next?”
Add a reminder to check in with Samaritas before your next term.
Ask what you need to update, which academic records to provide, and how changes in your classes, school, or financial aid could affect your funding.
Help students connect with ETV early, organize paperwork, and prepare questions. Offer to make an introduction or work through the application together, with the student’s permission.
Reach out to Samaritas to confirm individual eligibility and current application requirements.
You don’t have to figure everything out at once. Start with a question—and connect with someone who can help.
Between classes, work, and everyday life, receipts can be easy to lose. The FSM Student ETV Receipt Tracker helps you organize your expenses, find your receipts, and remember what you’ve sent to the ETV team.
It includes a simple expense log, receipt status dropdowns, automatic totals, and a receipt-saving guide.
Open the Student ETV Receipt Tracker
1. Make your own copy.
Open the link and select File → Make a copy. Give it a name you’ll recognize, such as “My School Receipts — Fall 2026.” Read the Start here tab, then open Receipt tracker. Add your semester and the receipt deadline provided by ETV.
2. Pick a place for your receipts.
Create a private folder on your phone or Google Drive. Keep paper originals together in an envelope or folder, too.
3. Save each receipt right away.
Take a clear photo of the entire receipt. Check that you can read the store name, purchase date, items, and total. Save emailed receipts in the same folder.
Give each receipt a simple ID, such as R001, and use that ID in both the filename and tracker so you can match them later.
4. Add your purchase to the tracker.
Use one row for each expense. Record:
For example, if a receipt totals $60 but only $40 is assigned to ETV, enter $60 under Receipt total and $40 under ETV portion. Ask the ETV team if you’re unsure what amount to enter.
5. Update your receipt status.
Use Receipt saved? to note whether you have a readable copy. Then update Submission status:
Adding a receipt link to the tracker does not submit it to ETV. Follow the submission instructions provided by the ETV team.
6. Give it five minutes each week.
Add new purchases, save missing receipts, and check anything that hasn’t been confirmed. A quick weekly check can save you a last-minute search at the end of the semester!
The tracker adds the ETV amounts you’ve entered and shows how much you’ve marked as sent. It also counts logged expenses that haven’t been confirmed by ETV.
These totals are for organizing your records. They do not show your remaining ETV award balance or confirm that an expense is approved.
Check your email or online order history, or ask the store for another copy. If you still can’t find it, contact the ETV team to ask what documentation they can accept.
Not sure whether ETV can cover something? Ask the ETV team before buying it. Also confirm what documentation they need, how to send it, and when it’s due.
Keep your completed tracker and receipt folder private. You can ask a campus coach or trusted person to help you get organized without making your files public.
Your tracker helps you stay organized. Keep the actual receipts and follow ETV’s documentation instructions, too.
Fostering Success Michigan is a statewide initiative that aims to increase access and success in higher education for students with experience in foster care. Fostering Success Michigan is a program of Educate Tomorrow.
