A federal grant will provide qualified student parents with funding for child care services.
Associated Students (A.S.) Assistant Director Jennifer Delatorre, said the Child Care Access Means Parents in School Program (CCAMPIS) grant will go toward supporting the expansion of the Child Care Network, the university’s collective group of providers that host childcare both on campus and in the surrounding community. The grant will also assist in providing partial to complete coverage of costs for childcare.
“The grant is being used to fund child care for CSUN students earning their first bachelor’s degree and for Cal Grant recipients,” Delatorre said.
Students’ eligibility for funding will be determined by their family income and status enrollment among other factors, Delatorre said.
“Eligible students will have to meet the criteria of ongoing Department of Education funding qualifications,” Delatorre said. “The standards for the new grant will correspond with the state grants.”
The A.S. Children’s Center currently charges students an hourly rate that is determined by age and how often a child attends, Delatorre said. The center accepts children between 3 months and 5 years of age.
Of the CCAMPIS Program award, about 58 percent of the funds will go towards paying for childcare and the remaining $102,784 of the $242,784 will go towards accreditation training, employee salaries, providers, support services, and materials, said David Crandall, A.S. general manager.
Crandall said he expects the CCAMPIS Program to aid the university and about 24 providers in the Child Care Network program, who are located around CSUN’s surrounding communities.
“The program was established with a comprehensive series of components,” Delatorre said. “While the network provides services for the university, our collaborative effort is to help them in obtaining or maintaining their accreditation.”
Delatorre said the grant’s comprehensive nature allows for a multitude of services.
“It’s so much more than child care,” Delatorre said.
Delatorre said the program works hand-in-hand with the U.S. Department of Social Work by providing an intern to develop a program that provides resources and support for struggling parents.
The A.S. Children’s Center is structured to serve as a childcare resource center for students, faculty and CSUN community members. It enables students pursuing higher education to attend school and register their children into a childcare program that gives them the flexibility they need in order to continue their education, Delatorre said.
Sophomore Askale Rhoden shares a similar sentiment about the program, saying it will be beneficial to parents who struggle with balancing parenting and their academic careers.
“It will be beneficial for students because they will be able to enhance their future and focus on school during instructional hours and not child care,” Rhoden said.
Rhoden said on average she pays $800 a month for my son’s child care.
“This will free up money in our budget and allow us to put it into other necessities for his care,” she said.
Crandall said the ultimate goal of the program is to assist the people who need it and give those who need the experience and training the opportunities necessary to develop in their fields.
“The key here is to help, that’s the main goal,” Crandall said.
