In his proposed budget, President Trump outlined his plan to eliminate the Child Care Access Means Parents in School program, called CCAMPIS, even though data about what America’s student population looks like today and in the foreseeable future support its continued existence. Fittingly named, the program provides on-campus child care for low-income parents enrolled in institutions of higher education and is funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
Why is that important? Since 2004, the number of college students raising children has gone up by 30 percent, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. Almost five million student parents are now enrolled in colleges across America, and their number is projected to grow at a faster rate than traditional students — especially at community and for-profit colleges. At the same time, the availability of child-care services on campuses has been declining in regions across the country that have the highest influx of students with children. The elimination of the program would deal another blow to student parents and make our higher education institutions less effective in meeting the needs of their changing populations.