WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today re-introduced a bill to help increase access to on-campus child care for low-income student parents and ensure the U.S. Department of Education is meeting the needs of our student parent populations.
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The Child Care Access Means Parents in Schools (CCAMPIS) Reauthorization Act would reauthorize and fully fund the only federal program that exclusively supports on-campus child care services. Duckworth originally introduced this legislation when she was in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Shrinking child care options makes it even harder for student parents who are trying to balance college coursework and raising children,” said Senator Duckworth. "That’s one reason why I’m re-introducing this bill to help increase access to child care services so student parents can focus on getting an education that will help them provide a better future for their families."
The Child Care Access Means Parents in Schools (CCAMPIS) Reauthorization Act would:
· Permanently reauthorize the CCAMPIS program
· Authorize CCAMPIS at $500 million per year beginning in FY 2022 (current law is “such sums,” and FY21 appropriation was $55 million)
· Eliminate barriers for student parents to access benefits
· Streamline program requirements to make it easier for on and off-campus child care providers to apply for grants
· Connect student parents to benefit programs to help with food, housing, and health care
· Produce disaggregated data on the student parents served and the benefits of CCAMPIS
U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Bob Casey (D-PA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) joined Duckworth in re-introducing this legislation.
Last December, Duckworth helped secure a $2 million increase for CCAMPIS above the fiscal year 2020 amount. In September of 2019, Duckworth helped U.S. Senator Patty Murray issue a report highlighting the challenges student parents in college are facing while completing their degree.
Just 42 percent of community colleges offered on-campus child care in 2017, down from 53 percent in 2003. Access to on-campus child care declined from 54 to 48 percent at four-year institutions over that same timeframe.
The legislation has been endorsed by the following organizations: Center for Law and Social Policy, National Women's Law Center, Child Care Aware America, Young Invincibles, Child Care/Early Education Coalition, Partners for Education at Berea College, St. Catherine University, Council of Administrators of Special Education, Higher Education Consortium for Special Education (HECSE), SHAPE America, Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, TESOL International Association, Institute for Women's Policy Research.
