Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans - State of FL

The Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans (CSDDV) provides an award to dependent children or un-remarried spouses of qualified Florida veterans.  The award reflects the rate for private institutions in Florida.  You will need to contact public institutions for their rates.

General Eligibility Requirements for a Child

The child must:

• Be between the ages of 16 and 22
• Be initially eligible prior to his or her 23rd birthday.
• Be a dependent child of a qualified veteran whose official military and residency status is certified by the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs
• Receive educational opportunity until such a time as the parent classified as prisoner of war or missing in action is returned alive or otherwise classified.

General Eligibility Requirements for a Spouse

As certified by the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs, the spouse of a disabled veteran must:

• Be married to a qualified veteran whose official military and residency status is certified by the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs.
• Have been a Florida resident for one year immediately preceding the occurrence of the veteran’s disability.
• Be married to the disabled veteran for one or more years.
• Accept scholarship funding only during the duration of the marriage and up to the point of termination of the marriage by dissolution or annulment.

As certified by the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs, the spouse of a deceased veteran must:

• Be un-remarried.
• Have been the spouse of a qualified veteran whose official military and residency status is certified by the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs.
• Apply for the scholarship within 5 years after the veteran’s death

Qualified Veteran Requirements

The veteran will:

• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
• Have Florida listed as the servicemember’s official home of record in DEERS database immediately preceding time of death, determination of 100% permanent and total disability, or prisoner of war/missing in action classification.

Have met at least one of the following criteria:

• Died as a result of service-connected disability sustained while on active duty.
• Be certified by the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs as having service-connected 100% permanent and total disabilities.
• Be classified as a prisoner of war or missing in action by the United States Armed Forces or as civilian personnel captured while serving with the consent or authorization of the United States government during wartime service for a dependent child to receive scholarship funding.

For more info, please see the PDF.