CCAMPIS Releases Applications for New FY2022 Awards

The Department of Education has recently released a Federal Register Notice inviting applications for new awards for FY2022 for the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program. 

CCAMPIS is a competitive grant program administered by the Department of Education that supports the participation of low-income parents in postsecondary education. By providing grants to institutions of higher education, the program supports or establishes campus-based child care programs for Pell Grant-eligible students, including before- and after-school services. Funds may be used either to directly provide child care services or contract for the provision of such services. The ability of undergraduate students with children to access high-quality child care is one of the many factors that can significantly impact whether a student persists and graduates. 

Despite investments in CCAMPIS, caps on maximum awards created limitations to fully addressing and maintaining these programs. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research estimates around 11,000 student parents are currently served by CCAMPIS, which accounts for less than 1% of undergraduate student parents. In order to allow more parents to benefit from high-quality child care support, the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2022, signed into law on March 15, 2022, lifted the previous maximum for CCAMPIS awards from 1% of Pell awarded funding to 3% and tripled the minimum of $30,000 to $90,000.

As outlined in the notice inviting applications, the Department’s priorities include projects that are designed to leverage significant local or institutional resources and use a sliding fee scale for child care services in order to support a high number of low-income parents pursuing postsecondary education at the institution. The Department is particularly interested in applications focused on supporting single parents, providing wrap-around services to low-income student parents, and increasing child care access to student parents with infants and toddlers. Institutions of higher education that awarded a total of $250,000 or more in Federal Pell Grant funds during the FY 2021 year to enrolled students are eligible to apply.

Find more CCAMPIS award and eligibility information here. Learn more about CCAMPIS and the Higher Education Act (HEA) and FFYF’s recommendations for HEA reauthorization.