Washington, DC — Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-Westlake Village) announced more than $500,000 in federal funding over four years from the U.S. Department of Education that will help support Ventura County Community College District’s Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) Project, which will help enhance the existing child care programs at the college and provide for 30 additional child care scholarships per year.
“Access to high-quality child care should never be a barrier to parents looking to further their education and better support their families,” said Congresswoman Brownley. “I am pleased to announce that Ventura County Community College District will receive this grant to help support their existing child care program and provide student-parents with the support they need to succeed.”
“We are proud of the Ventura College Child Development and Education Center and our other childcare facilities at Moorpark and Oxnard colleges. We continually seek ways to positively influence the lives of our students and are proud of the work being done at Ventura College,” said Ventura County Community College District’s Board of Trustees Chair Art Hernandez.
“This grant will help remove the childcare barrier for our students with young children. Childcare fee scholarships provided to low-income parents will assist them in reaching their educational goals faster,” said Ventura College President Damon Bell.
“In my 20 years at Ventura College, I have seen time and again how being unable to afford dependable child care prevents parents from being able to attend the college courses they need to qualify for good jobs. This funding will help many low-income student parents overcome that barrier – I am excited that we can provide this support,” said Ventura College Child Development Professor Robin Douglas.
Ventura County Community College District will receive $521,580 over four years from the U.S. Department of Education as part of their Child Care Access Means Parents in School Program grant. This program supports the participation of low-income parents in postsecondary education through the provision of campus-based child care services.
Ventura County Community College District will use this funding for their CCAMPIS Project, which will support the existing Ventura College Child Development Center, a center that has the capacity to serve 90 children, ages two through five. The CCAMPIS Project will further help serve low-income student-parents through the provision of 30 additional child care scholarships per year.
The CCAMPIS Project aims to:
- Identify, recruit, and select low income (Pell Grant eligible) college student parents who do not qualify for other child care funding assistance to receive CCAMPIS child care scholarships. A sliding fee scale, described in the Absolute Priority section of the application, will be used to determine the order of awards and percentage of fees covered.
- Provide the children of CCAMPIS participants with high-quality, affordable onsite child care.
- Connect CCAMPIS participants with academic and support services in order to promote student success.
- Monitor CCAMPIS participants’ academic progress to ensure persistence from one academic year to the next until graduation with an associate degree and/or certificate; and/or successful transfer to a four-year university is achieved.
Read more about the grant here.
Issues: 115th Congress, Education