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by Elissa Nadworny
In 2018, Congress more than tripled CCAMPIS funding — from $15 million to $50 million. Even with that increase, estimates by IWPR show the program only serves about 11,000 student parents.
“It’s a drop in the bucket,” says Lindsey Reichlin Cruse, who studies student parents at IWPR. Reichlin Cruse estimates there are 1.8 million student parents who could qualify for the program — that means CCAMPIS currently serves less than 1% of those who could benefit from it.
“Child care is arguably one of the most — if not the most — important support for student parents to be successful in college,” Reichlin Cruse says. “Helping students graduate via helping them afford childcare is a real gain; a real benefit for society more broadly.”