FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

August 1, 2017

Contact: Allie Aguilera, allie.aguilera@younginvincibles.org, 202-734-6529

[Washington]-Over the last week, members of the House and Senate introduced two bills entitled the CCAMPIS Reauthorization Act, both of which would reauthorize the Child Care Access Means Parents In School program (CCAMPIS). CCAMPIS is a federal grant program that provides on-campus child care to thousands of student parents across the country. The bills, introduced by Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) and Rep. Don Young (R-AK) in the House, and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) in the Senate, will call for quadrupling investment in the program at a time when its funding is severely under threat. The Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill recently approved by the House Appropriations Committee eliminates funding for the program.

“Since its creation by a bipartisan group of lawmakers in 1998, CCAMPIS has helped student parents afford child care, remain in school, and graduate with the degrees they need to support their families,” said Young Invincibles’ Government Affairs Director Reid Setzer. “Young Invincibles thanks Reps. Clark and Young and Senator Duckworth for continuing to focus on serving student parents, who make up over a quarter of our country’s student population. Affording and completing a college education is already a major challenge for many young adults, but we know student parents take on more debt, often have less time to study, and have the added responsibility of ensuring their children are under safe care while they go to school. We were devastated to see the House budget eliminate funding for this program-a clear indication that those lawmakers crafting the budget are disconnected from the needs of today’s students. Young Invincibles supports not only protecting this program but expanding it, as these bills do, to better serve at-need student parents.”

Below are a few examples of how the CCAMPIS program has helped families from all across the country:

Kyle Cerka, Ferris State University (MI)

Defunding the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) grant hits home for us. I just graduated from Ferris State University with my engineering degree and my wife Stacy is currently in graduate school at Grand Valley State University obtaining her Master’s degree. High quality childcare itself is incredibly expensive, about $150-$200 a week per child, making it almost impossible to pay for for full time student parents. I can’t imagine how differently our lives would look if we hadn’t received the CCAMPIS grant. Without the CCAMPIS grant, and the high quality child care it provided for our two children, there is absolutely no way we would have been able to stay in school.

Sabrina Vasquez – California State University, San Bernardino

I had a wonderful experience with the CCAMPIS program and the Infant Toddler Lab at Cal State University San Bernardino. After having my son, I didn’t have anyone to watch him because I was a single parent. CCAMPIS helped me with a big portion of the expenses to keep him at the Infant Toddler Lab. My son was there until he was about three years old when I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree and a multiple subject teaching credential. I am currently a teacher in Riverside and I am working on my Master’s degree. If it wasn’t for CCAMPIS, there is no way I would have been able to complete my degree at this point in my life. This program helps struggling families who want to make a better life for their kids. Cutting funds means cutting success stories. I am very grateful for CCAMPIS and truly hope many more people get to experience the blessing it truly is.

Julie Kallio – University of Wisconsin – Madison

I have two boys – currently four and a half and one and a half years old. Thanks to the CCAMPIS program, they attend a wonderful preschool on the campus of UW-Madison. The consistency of having my children in a high quality child care program was only possible for me because of the CCAMPIS grant! CCAMPIS has allowed me to pursue my studies, participating in research activities that I would have otherwise had to miss. Because of CCAMPIS, I will graduate sooner, with better experience for my career. CCAMPIS has also allowed my husband to work full time running his small business, allowing us to contribute to the economy and invest in our future. The campus preschool at UW-Madison is a model for how we should care for our youngest people and help their parents succeed. Cutting this funding will mean either that I, and thousands of students like me, will have to delay my studies or take out more student loans to cover the cost of childcare.