Why Cut a Federal Program That Helps Student Parents Access Child Care?

Join our zero2eight Substack community for more discussion about the latest news in early care and education. Sign up now.

At a time when federal funding for Medicaid, public broadcasting and food assistance are on the chopping block, the fate of a smaller program has flown under the radar, despite having enormous implications for the population it serves. The Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program provides a funding stream intended to help student parents complete their degrees by covering or decreasing the cost of child care. The Trump administration’s discretionary budget request for fiscal year 2026, which was submitted to Congress in May, proposed zeroing out funding for the small, yet popular program.

There are more than 3 million undergraduate student parents in the U.S., and roughly half of them have at least one child under the age of 6, according to New America. This population represents more than one in five American undergraduate college students. 

Unsurprisingly, access to affordable child care is a huge challenge for these individuals — and this obstacle is, in part, why student parents are nearly twice as likely to drop out of college than students without children. A 2022 report co-published by The Education Trust and Generation Hope, two nonprofits that focus on educational equity, concluded that “there is no state in which a student parent can work 10 hours a week at the minimum wage and afford both tuition and child care at a public college or university.” 

CCAMPIS, which launched in 1999 and has historically received bipartisan support, has been an important, if insufficient, finger in this dam. The funding, which as of 2025 is $75 million, helps around 3,000 students at more than 250 institutions of higher education (IHEs) complete their degrees and move toward a more stable life, according to the Congressional Research Service. And that’s to say nothing of the positive ripple effects for the broader community. 

The $75 million is distributed as grants to IHEs via an application process. The funding can be used to cover the cost of running on-campus child care centers (which can provide care for young children and offer before- or after-school care for older kids) or to subsidize the cost of off-campus child care for student parents through needs-based financial aid. 

The impacts can be life-changing. One student parent who was interviewed by researchers at New America said, “as a military spouse with no nearby family or built-in support system, I often felt completely alone. This [CCAMPIS program] has changed that. It’s given me a network. Child care funding has given me the ability to care for myself and work toward a better future for my family, all while knowing my children are in safe, nurturing environments.”

In the context of the federal budget, which reached $6.75 trillion in 2024, the $75 million for CCAMPIS is small potatoes. It represents a tiny fraction of the nation’s annual spending. By comparison, the military parade that took place in Washington, D.C. on June 14, was estimated to cost upwards of $45 million. 

In a more ideal ecosystem of family policy and infrastructure, campus child care would be folded into a broad-based child care system and student parents would have more overall support, but in the absence of a more comprehensive system, CCAMPIS has become an important interim funding stream that, if anything, should be plussed up.

The rationale given in the budget request is wanting at best. The Trump administration writes: “The Budget proposes to eliminate CCAMPIS because subsidizing child care for parents in college is unaffordable and duplicative. Funding can instead be secured through the Child Care [and] Development Block Grant. Further, IHEs could offer to accommodate this need among their student population, and many do.” Though the block grant suggested is designated for helping low-income parents afford child care while they’re working or attending school, this funding is already stretched tissue-paper thin. It only reaches about 14% of eligible families and several states are under enrollment freezes due to underfunding. And most IHE’s, especially community colleges, do not have the reserves to cover the gap.

In recent years, many colleges and universities have been closing down their campus child care programs due to fiscal challenges. One such casualty is the center at Everett Community College outside Seattle. The Seattle Times reported “anger, sadness, and frustration” among the student parents served by the closing center, adding that some parents relied on the center for much more than child care. The story highlighted one mother, Phala Richie: “she says she’s built meaningful relationships at the center, and there’s resources for parents. Sometimes, at the end of the year, she can’t afford to buy jackets for her kids, and the center helps families get winter clothes. The center’s pantry also helps when she’s running low on food or diapers. Richie has taken budgeting classes and learned how to do CPR.” 

It’s tempting to suggest that since CCAMPIS serves a relatively small population, it’s not such a big deal if it’s eliminated. But this proposal serves as an example of death by a thousand cuts. If the program disappears, it will represent the failure of an institution that everyday people have come to rely on. It will decrease trust in government, making it harder to pick up the pieces again and move toward a stronger, more solidaristic society where everyone can thrive. 

Hopefully, Congress will have enough sense to reject the Trump administration’s proposed cut to CCAMPIS funding and will instead seek out ways to bolster student parents rather than leaving them on an even more precarious ledge.

Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter