It’s common for adults to go to school to increase their earnings and job growth potential. But for students with children, paying for community college and child care while balancing school and work can be a near-insurmountable hurdle.

“Managing child care, school responsibilities and often work can be extremely challenging, and the difficulties with child care can be one of the primary reasons that students with children have to take breaks from school, or possibly quit and never return,” says Barbara Gault, vice president and executive director of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, a research organization that focuses on women’s issues.