Davids Announces Federal Funding for Student Childcare Services at JCCC

Today, Representative Sharice Davids announced the U.S. Department of Education awarded Johnson County Community College's (JCCC) Hiersteiner Child Development Center (HCDC) up to $618,000 to provide on-campus childcare services for low-income student-parents.

"I was raised by a single mother and saw the countless sacrifices she made to support me and my brothers," said Davids. "It took me 4 years to complete an Associate's Degree at JCCC. I know there are many real-life challenges students face while in school. As an alumnus and a strong advocate for Kansas public schools, I applaud JCCC's dedication to ensuring all students have access to an education."

"Johnson County Community College appreciates that the cost of childcare can be a near insurmountable obstacle for student-parents when pursuing their degrees," said Dr. Andy Bowne, President of Johnson County Community College. "With this funding through the CCAMPIS program, we will be able to support more student-parents to achieve their education goals and provide a better life for their families."

"The Hiersteiner Child Development Center at Johnson County Community College is excited to offer student-parents CCAMPIS scholarships to enroll their children in our early childhood program," said Courtney Hultgren, Program Director of Hiersteiner Child Development Center. "Our Center provides high quality education to children ages 12 months and walking to 6 years old, giving them the social-emotional skills to become ready for elementary school."

This grant will provide up to $618,204 to help JCCC create a scholarship fund aimed at providing on-campus childcare services for low-income student-parents with children aged one to six years old. For 2022-23, JCCC was awarded $154,551, with continued funding expected annually for four years. The new Child Care Access Means Parents in School award aims to increase student success on several metrics, including student satisfaction, retention, persistence, and graduation and transfer rates. Specifically, it will help by:

• continuing a Child Care Access Fund for Pell-eligible student-parents,
• supplementing the Center's budget for professional development,
• enhancing the Center's programmatic assessment and evaluation procedures.

Applicants for the scholarship, known as the Child Care Access Fund, will be required to have a FAFSA on file with the JCCC Financial Aid Office and be deemed Pell eligible. For the 2021 academic year, 2,576 JCCC students were Pell-eligible, with 342 of these students identifying as single parents needing childcare. JCCC will use a sliding fee scale to disburse scholarships based on applicants' Expected Family Contribution to ensure the greatest number of low-income student parents will be served.

Federal funding for this grant was authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, which Davids voted to support in March 2022.