State Treasurer John Perdue’s office and Mission West Virginia are taking applications for college savings scholarships, targeted to children adopted from foster care.

Scholarship availability is open to anyone who adopted a child through the West Virginia foster care system as long as age requirements are met, according to Rachel Kinder of Frameworks, an adoption facilitation arm of Mission West Virginia. Prospective children must be 12 or under by Sept. 26, 2016.

Applications are due on the cutoff day and should be sent to MWV SMART529 Award, 168 Midland Trail, Suite 1, Hurricane, W.Va. 25526. Applications may be faxed to 304-562-0726 or e-mailed to rkinder@missionwv.org. Frameworks may be reached by phone at 866-CALL-MWV. Please visit www.missionwv.org for more information about the award program or to obtain the application for the scholarship.

Money raised by the Treasurer’s Office for scholarships comes from the annual SMART 5.29K run/walk held each May to commemorate National College Savings Day. Organized and administered by the Treasurer’s Office, the race is held near May 29, a reflection of the “5-29” date and the tax code upon which all 529 college savings plan are founded. Scholarship money will be gleaned from the proceeds of the most recent race in May which raised about $15,000.              

Selected families will be notified Oct. 12, with an award ceremony scheduled Nov. 1. Money from the 2015 race allotted funds for seven children from five families. Money to be disbursed in November comes from this past spring’s race. Amounts to be given depend on the number of successful applicants.

“The last two years have provided a chance for us to help a vulnerable segment of the population which faces obstacles in attaining a college education,” said Treasurer Perdue. “Only about three percent of children adopted through foster care make it to college because of the erratic nature of their upbringings and interruptions in education.”