Treehouse provides funding for driver’s licenses, driver’s education, car insurance, and more to remove financial barriers to independence through safe driving.
Learning to drive opens opportunities and independence for young people—and we want to help youth experiencing foster care get that same chance. By alleviating the financial burden on youth and caregivers, more Washington youth in foster care are driving legally and safely.
Treehouse Driver’s Assistance provides payment for:
For full details, see our Driver’s Assistance Funding Guidelines.
We help pay for things like licensing, car insurance, basic repairs, and more. However, each service has different funding limits. See our funding guidelines for full details.
Youth ages 15–18* should follow these guidelines to achieve their driver’s license with the Department of Licensing:
*Participants aged 18 are not required to take a driver training course or get a learner’s permit. They must pass the knowledge and drive skills test.
For drivers under 18, social workers need to submit these documents to the DOL:
Requests over $700 may require further documentation, with an explanation of the need for services beyond standard courses.
Please email licensing@treehouseforkids.org if you need help finding a driving school in your area.
Yes, Driver’s Assistance will pay for driving course and test re-takes. For as long as your permit is valid (typically one year), you can continue to work on achieving your license.
Some driving schools may have policies on course timelines. Be sure to check in with them regularly about makeups and practice session appointments.
If another payment to the driving school is required, please make a new request.
Please submit your request at least 3 weeks before payment is needed.
Payment processing usually takes 1–2 business weeks or longer. If funding is delivered via check, it may add 10 days to the process.
Driver’s Assistance provides payment by:
Reimbursements must be requested within 60 days of payment. All reimbursements require a receipt showing:
Participants need:
Please note: Driver’s Assistance offers a step-down payment model for all car insurance requests, meaning youth and caregivers will be financially responsible for a portion of the insurance policy.
Yes. To pay the insurance company directly, additional paperwork must be submitted to grant Treehouse access to the account for the purposes of payment.
Please note: the youth or policy holder must make their payment portion before Treehouse pays the remainder.
If you are unable to pay your portion of the cost of insurance, please contact our program staff so we can assess what additional supports or resources may be available.
Contact us as soon as possible to avoid any lapse of coverage due to late payment.
No, Driver’s Assistance does not require annual referrals! Requests can be made by anyone through our online application. Each funding request needs to be submitted separately.
Please note: we verify program eligibility with the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) or the Tribal social worker.
Youth enrolled in Graduation Success may qualify for funding requests through our Just-in-Time Funding program. Be sure to ask your Education Specialist for more assistance.
We may be able to connect youth experiencing foster care who are not enrolled in other Treehouse programs with resources in their area.