Child Care assistance continues at Somerset Community College

By Press release submission

Nov 28, 2022

Somerset Community College (SCC) is excited to announce that the CCAMPIS (Child Care Access Means Parents in School) federal grant has been renewed for an additional four years with $1,331,428 from the Department of Education.

First awarded in 2018, SCC has been rewarded with renewal of the CCAMPIS Grant through 2026. Since the inception of the CCAMPIS grant program, SCC has served 51 student-parents, 47% have since graduated, and either transferred to a four-year school or gone into the workforce. Of those graduating students, 16% went on to pursue their undergraduate degrees at 4-year universities. The other 37% have persisted each year. The average GPA over the course of the grant’s 4-year cycle thus far is 3.12 with the national average GPA at a 4-year university being 3.15

Student-parents are one of the fastest-growing populations on college campuses across the nation. One in five college students are raising a family, and this number is slightly higher at community colleges where it is one in four. Childcare is just one of the obstacles student parents have when attending school. Many student-parents patch together childcare with partners, relatives, or less dependable care that often falls apart during the semester. This causes many students to miss class, not be able to concentrate on their homework and risk academic failure because their childcare support network fails.

The Department of Education’s CCAMPIS grant supports low-income student-parents in their postsecondary education through campus-based or off-campus childcare services. This also includes wrap-around services to help the student-parent be successful in school and be a stronger parent. Studies show that when given the necessary wrap-around supports while taking college classes, student parents will graduate faster, and frequently with a higher GPA than their fellow non-parent students.

“CCAMPIS makes it possible for me to attend my classes. Without childcare, it is certain I would not be able to be pursuing my dream of becoming a nurse. The ADN program requires a lot of time, work, and studying. CCAMPIS has made this dream become so much closer to a reality,” said Josette Pitman an SCC Student Ambassador and Nursing Program student.

Tonya Brown, CCAMPIS Project Director said “CCAMPIS is a wonderful grant which extends SCC the privilege of being a great help to its student-parent population, as well as, providing us opportunity to be an aid to our rural community childcare centers. It’s an all-around win-win!”

Student-parents who are enrolled in at least 6 credit hours, Pell eligible and have at least a 1.5 GPA may apply on SCC’s website. The eligible student-parents will receive CCAMPIS award notifications of the amount of childcare subsidy they are to receive within one academic term. Those subsidies are paid to the partnering childcare center which the student has elected to enroll their child (children).

Through this grant SCC currently partners with 17 childcare centers from Pulaski, Laurel, Rockcastle, Jackson and Wayne counties; however, we continue to pursue expanding partnerships to serve our student-parents and community childcare centers.

While the CCAMPIS grant is intended to serve our student-parents, it also affords us the opportunity to help our rural childcare centers as well. The project allows us the potential to aid our partnering centers in maintaining quality care through KY ALL STARS and NAEYC accreditations.

For more information about the CCAMPIS grant, please contact Tonya Brown, CCAMPIS Program Coordinator, or check out our CCAMPIS webpage.