Community colleges can now apply for a federal grant to support or establish campus-based child care services for students with children. In a 2024 survey, 71% of caregiving students at community colleges nationwide reported that their caregiving responsibilities could lead them to dropping out.
Higher education institutions that have awarded at least $250,000 in Pell Grants to students during fiscal year 2025 can apply for the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program by May 29. The grant competition, which opens every four years, is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services on behalf of the Department of Education and expects to award approximately 148 grants, ranging from $150,000 to $1 million per year.
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The grants can be used to create child care programs for low-income students, or to provide “before- and after-class and other student support services” for students with children to remain enrolled in college.
The grant is the first competition administered under a new interagency partnership between the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, according to a press release.
“Student parents often balance postsecondary education and caregiving responsibilities,” said Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education David Barker. “Through our partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services, we are supporting campus based child care services that assist students in pursuing and completing their postsecondary education. HHS has the expertise needed to effectively manage this program.”
Just over $73 million will be distributed through an estimated 148 awards to these institutions. The maximum award applicants can receive for a 12-month budget period is “$500,000 or the amount equivalent to the product of $100 multiplied by the institution’s total number of Pell Grant recipients in FY 2025, whichever amount is greater.”
CCAMPIS provides four-year competitive grants to awardees, prioritizing child care programs that draw on substantial local or institutional resources and operate on a sliding fee scale.
In North Carolina, Forsyth, Carteret, and Halifax community colleges have collectively received $1,584,881 in funding from CCAMPIS since 2011, according to data from the Department of Education.
Community colleges & child care
According to a report from Community College Daily, “The terms of the grant competition are not significantly different than prior competitions.”
However, Community College Daily noted two differences from prior grant rounds: an emphasis on applications that expand access to educational choice, and an expanded “Terms of Conditions” section that requires compliance with applicable civil rights laws and refers to presidential guidance concerning racial discrimination.
EdNC is working to track how many North Carolina colleges apply for this funding. If you apply for the grant, please reach out to aarcher@ednc.org and let us know.
Read more about the program in the federal document below.
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