<p>I am working with a senior whose family is worse than what I have usually dealt with (I have been doing this with inner city kids for awhile--finding the prostituting mother on the corner to sign the $%^& FAFSA, back in the day, was a particular story, but hey, it gets a kid to college!) and one of her schools requires CSS as well as FAFSA. The CSS Profile is new to me. Here is the situation--father is deceased I am told, and he never signed her birth certificate anyway. (I can't even find where one notes a deceased father on the forms, but that's tangential for the moment). She was raised by her mother, really grim upbringing (interesting essay on it however) who was and is quite an alcoholic. Eventually in middle school she was taken in by her older sister, who also has been raising several other teenagers of her own. Her sister has been her legal guardian. She is now 18, just in the school year I think,and has lived in that household all thru HS. She works and has made around $10,000 I think.</p>
<p>I have found the biological mother and dragged her out-of-it self to a computer to get a FAFSA PIN. The student has one already. I understand that one is to use figures from the biological parent, even if she had a legal guardian. But what about the CSS profile? Is her mother a "non-custodial parent" and therefore do I use that diff. form? That seems to me to be more for cases of divorce. This mom lives on SSI, something under $700 a month, plus food stamps--don't ask me how, and thank your lucky stars if your situation is different! </p>
<p>I think I can handle this with the FAFSA, but it is the CSS one that worries me. We started in on it last month, and when it just asks the narrative questions, it did not seem to uncover any of the quirks of this situation. Her sister no longer claims her as a dependent, since the student makes too much money. Does the student consider her mom as a noncustodial parent? But then there IS no custodial parent, since the other one is dead. </p>
<p>I would greatly appreciate any help on this. Oh yes, the older sister will also have a daughter in college, so she would have 2 from her household in college, except that she will no longer claim one of them, her younger sister, since she makes too much money. But that is an issue separate from this puzzle over this young woman.</p>