Unlocking the Full Potential of CCAMPIS for Student Parents

Balancing coursework towards a college degree, a part-time job, and raising a child while struggling to afford child care is a daily reality that parenting students face with limited support. The Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program, a competitive federal grant administered by the U.S. Department of Education, is designed to help colleges fund child care access for Pell-eligible students. This program offers a key lifeline, enabling higher education institutions to provide affordable, high-quality child care to parenting students.

While CCAMPIS has shown the potential to transform the lives of parenting students, its reach remains restricted. Many institutions face obstacles in accessing the limited funds allocated to the federally-funded program, so countless students nationwide are left without critical support. According to the Congressional Research Service, CCAMPIS helped roughly 3,300 parenting students pay for child care in 2016-2017. Yet 3,300 students is a tiny drop in the bucket compared to the roughly 1.5 million college students across the country with children under 6. This blog draws on New America’s recent qualitative research to explore the program’s limitations, access barriers, and potential policy solutions.

The Bright Side of CCAMPIS

For student parents at institutions fortunate enough to receive CCAMPIS grants, the impact can be transformative. At Mott Community College in Michigan, a CCAMPIS-funded early learning center serves 23 parenting students, providing subsidized child care ranging from 35 percent to 85 percent off full tuition. Madison Area Technical College in Wisconsin uses CCAMPIS funding to support 35 student parents with subsidized child care and additional resources like access to a Baby Basic Needs Closet.

Beyond direct subsidies, CCAMPIS funding helps institutions strengthen their child care programs, often allowing them to leverage additional funding streams to serve more families. At Madison College, for example, while CCAMPIS funds are reserved for Pell-eligible student parents, the investment in campus child care has expanded access more broadly, benefiting both student parents and the surrounding community.

Parenting students with access to on-campus child care consistently express high satisfaction with these programs. At Madison, focus group participants we spoke with shared how the center provided not just child care, but a supportive environment that allowed them to stay enrolled and persist toward their degrees.

Data supports these stories: The Institute for Women’s Policy Research found that community college student parents with on-campus child care were nearly three times more likely to graduate or transfer to a four-year college within three years. While these success stories highlight the impact CCAMPIS can have, the reality is that far too many parenting students remain without access due to the program’s limited reach.

The Zero-Sum Problem

For every institution awarded a CCAMPIS grant, many more are left behind. Of the roughly 3,500 degree-granting institutions in America, 264 have received a CCAMPIS grant in the most recent cycle. While CCAMPIS funding has increased to $75 million in recent years, the demand for child care support far exceeds what that money can support.

Even the schools lucky enough to receive a CCAMPIS grant are squeezed by inadequate funding. At Mott Community College, most parents receive only 35 percent tuition coverage from CCAMPIS, with copays increasing as funding tightens. Nearly every college we spoke with that received a CCAMPIS grant had a waitlist of students hoping to access the center. In 2016-2017, more than 4,000 children nationwide were stuck on CCAMPIS waitlists, illustrating the significant gap between need and availability.

Increasing annual CCAMPIS funding to $500 million would significantly expand the program’s reach, enabling an estimated 100,000 additional parenting students, roughly 6 percent of Pell-eligible student parents with young children. However, until the program receives adequate funding, it will remain a vital but insufficient solution for addressing the needs of parenting students.

Barriers in the CCAMPIS Application Process

Institutions that wish to apply for CCAMPIS often face significant barriers, mainly due to the complexity of the application process. One administrator said, “We were going to apply, but we didn’t realize how daunting the application was and how extremely competitive the process is.” Many institutions, especially those serving the highest numbers of student parents, struggle to apply due to the complexity of the process. These same institutions often have the most limited resources to manage complex federal grant applications, making it even more difficult for them to access CCAMPIS funding. Simplifying the application could ensure that more schools can secure and effectively use CCAMPIS funds.

Further complicating the process is the annual reporting requirement. One administrator shared, “I would figure out a simplified way to complete the annual report. It’s an online form, and if [ED] can somehow transfer information from one year to another, so you're not reentering the same information over and over again.” Streamlining reporting requirements would reduce the administrative burden on colleges, ensuring they can focus on serving students rather than navigating paperwork.

Beyond the application, program restrictions limit how colleges can use CCAMPIS funds. The requirement that funding only supports care at nationally accredited centers, while ensuring quality, also reduces flexibility. Many on-campus and nearby off-campus providers meet state safety and quality regulations but aren’t nationally accredited, making them ineligible for CCAMPIS support. This is particularly challenging in rural areas and child care deserts, where accredited options are scarce. The accreditation rule also prevents CCAMPIS from funding drop-in child care, which student parents rely on when their usual arrangements fall through. One administrator shared, “We’re trying to meet our students where they are, but the rules make that harder than it needs to be.”

While CCAMPIS aims to fund high-quality care, child care quality is primarily regulated at the state level. Many non-accredited providers still meet rigorous state licensing and quality standards, meaning excluding them from CCAMPIS eligibility doesn’t necessarily reflect safety or quality concerns. Addressing these barriers could make CCAMPIS more accessible and responsive to student parents' needs.

Solutions for Improving CCAMPIS

Recognizing the challenges outlined above, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have proposed reforms to improve CCAMPIS and expand its reach. Democrats have introduced legislation to increase annual appropriations to $500 million and streamline the application process. At the same time, Republicans have called for greater flexibility, allowing institutions to partner with off-campus providers and prioritize schools with high parenting student completion rates. These efforts underscore a shared bipartisan commitment to addressing the gaps in the CCAMPIS program.

To improve the program, policymakers should consider the following:

• Increase funding to $500 million annually: This increase would significantly expand the program’s reach, helping an estimated 100,000 additional parenting students access critical child care support.
• Simplify the application and reporting process: Making the grant application and reporting process more user-friendly would reduce administrative burdens for under-resourced schools and make it easier for more colleges to apply for and benefit from CCAMPIS funding.
• Enhance flexibility for child care providers: Allow students to use child care providers that may not have national accreditation, particularly in underserved areas where such providers are the only available options.
• Allow CCAMPIS funds for facilities: CCAMPIS can be used for small minor renovations or repairs, but permitting funds to be used for constructing new child care facilities or renovating existing ones could significantly expand the program’s capacity to serve more students, reducing waitlists.
• Provide technical assistance: Ensure the Department of Education offers colleges robust training and technical assistance to help them navigate the application process and implement successful child care programs.

The Path Forward

The CCAMPIS program has already demonstrated its ability to help parenting students succeed in college, yet its current limitations leave too many without access to the support they need. By addressing the barriers, policymakers can empower colleges to meet the diverse needs of parenting students, paving the way for better outcomes in degree attainment and economic mobility. Until these changes become a reality though, the program will continue to play a critical but limited role, leaving countless parenting students behind.