Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Chair of the Congressional Dads Caucus Rep. Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), joined Whip Katherine Clark (MA-5), Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and congressional Democrats to reintroduce a bill to increase access to on-campus child care for the more than 4 million parenting students currently enrolled in postsecondary education programs. Despite the growing number of parents in school, access to affordable on-campus child care has been dwindling since 2004. The Child Care Access Means Parents in Schools (CCAMPIS) Reauthorization Act would help reverse this trend by reauthorizing and fully funding the only federal program that exclusively supports on-campus child care services, and ensuring the U.S. Department of Education is meeting the needs of student parents. 

“I founded the Dads Caucus to fight for bills like the CCAMPIS Reauthorization Act that make child care more attainable and affordable. Parents who are in school working to build a better life for themselves and their kids shouldn’t have to choose between higher education and ensuring their children are safe and looked after while they’re in class,” said Rep. Gomez. “I know firsthand the joys and challenges that come with raising a child in today’s world and I know the CCAMPIS Reauthorization Act is an opportunity to make those challenges a little easier for America’s working families.”  

“High child care costs are holding parents back—making it impossible for many to remain in the workforce and get the education they need to get ahead. But it doesn’t have to be this way,” said Whip Clark. “With this critical legislation, we can ensure student parents have the support they need and the fair shot they deserve.” 
 
“As college costs continue to skyrocket, we can't simply stay on the sidelines as it gets even harder for parenting students to afford higher education,” said Senator Duckworth. “The more than 4 million college students who are also raising children already have enough to worry about—child care should not be one of them. This legislation would help increase access to child care services so parenting students can stay focused on getting an education that will help them provide a better, stronger future for their families.” 
 
Parenting students already graduate with much higher levels of debt compared to non-parenting students because financial aid offerings do not cover child care. Since 2004, the number of parents enrolled in college has grown by 30 percent while on-campus childcare facilities have closed and services have been dropped. This leaves parenting students in a financial bind as they face exorbitant education costs and a lack of options for safe and affordable child care on their schools' campuses. 
 
The Child Care Access Means Parents in Schools (CCAMPIS) Reauthorization Act would: 

• Reauthorize the CCAMPIS program through Fiscal Year 2030 

• Authorize CCAMPIS at $500 million per year, establish the annual maximum individual grant award level at $2 million and increase the annual minimum level to $75,000 

• Eliminate barriers for parenting students to access benefits 

• Streamline program requirements and enhance U.S. Department of Education technical assistance to make it easier for child care providers to apply for grants 

• Help connect parenting students to benefit programs that help with food, housing and health care services 

• Enhance program transparency and accountability by collecting disaggregated data on the parenting students served by the program 

Along with Gomez, the legislation is co-led by U.S. House Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (OR-1), Jennifer McClellan (VA-3), Brittany Pettersen (CO-7) and Jill Tokuda (HI-2). 

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