Help available for student parents

Aggie care hosted Utah State University's Celebration of children and families on the Quad Sept. 6. The event had activities for for students and their families. Photo credit: Kylee Larsen

Editor’s note: This story was originally published Tuesday, Sept. 16. A correction was made Wednesday, Sept. 17: The Delores Dore Eccles Center for Early Care and Education was wrongly referred to as The Edith Bowen Laboratory School, which serves a separate purpose on campus. The correct contact information for the CCAMPIS evening care is ccampischildcare@gmail.com.

Juggling a full class schedule while working a part-time job can be stressful for some students. Add caring for a young child to the mix and life becomes even more hectic. For students like Jennae Simmons, a single mother and full time student, this is a reality; the pressure of school work, childcare and a job is a bit overwhelming. But, since Simmons became a recipient of a childcare grant through Utah State University, school has become a bit more manageable.

Simmons is one of more than 70 students at USU who are recipients of the Child Care Access Means Parents in School grant, or CCAMPIS. The grant is offered to assist students in covering the cost of childcare. Undergraduate students who are Pell-grant eligible and who are not eligible for funding through the state can apply to have up to 70, 80 or 90 percent of child care costs paid for.

“When I first started school I tried working and going to school and I just couldn’t do it,” Simmons said. “It was like I never saw my son because I had to make the choice of being poor all the time and going to school so we could have a better life later.”

As a veteran, Simmons has to pay 10 percent of childcare costs for her 4-year-old son, the standard for all veterans and members of the National Guard enrolled in the program. Stephanie Legako, coordinator of the grant, said about ten percent of CCAMPIS recipients fall into this category.

According to a 2012 study by Our Nation’s Leading Voice for Child Care, or NACCRRA, the average annual cost of childcare in Utah is $7,848 for an infant and $5,988 for a 4-year-old. The average annual resident tuition at a 4-year college in Utah is $5,292.

Legako said this can be debilitating for students trying to balance school and family life.

“A lot of times, in order to pay for child care people have to quit school to go to work,” she said. “That’s counterproductive to the goal of finishing school… Being a student, you have enough to worry about; deadlines, papers, projects, group projects, all of that mess plus getting to work on time and, oh, you have to feed that kid… To be able to take some of that stress off is really a joy that we have to be able to help.”

The grant is in the second year of funding of its four year stay at USU. Recipients of the grant can have their child enrolled at the Delores Dore Eccles Center for Early Care and Education, an on-campus care facility, or opt to use facilities off campus that have been approved by Aggie Care. To become an Aggie Care facility, off-campus providers must either become nationally accredited or be in the process of becoming accredited.

CCAMPIS provides funding for off-campus facilities to receive accreditation. Konie Humphreys, director of Aggie Care, said this creates quality spaces for child care off campus, benefiting families both inside and outside of the university.

“You can build all the childcare centers you want on campus, but they’ll just fill up,” she said. “Why not utilize all the services in our community? We’ve connected the bridge between USU and the community to try and do that.”

The Delores Dore Eccles Center is considered the “gold standard” of child care, Legako said. Because of this, the waiting list to have a child enrolled is lengthy, and it could take over a year for a spot to open up.

“To bring so many other providers in the valley to that level, then we are not only helping the undergraduate students get childcare, we’re helping them get higher quality care,” Legako said.

Simmons’ son receives care at an off-campus facility, but she hopes one day he will be admitted to the Delores Dore Eccles Center; she doesn’t feel the care her son receives off campus is adequate.

“I feel he’s in good hands but I feel like the daycare (on campus) would be better just because they’re more structured and classroom oriented so he would get a better feel for how it would be in school,” she said.

CCAMPIS also functions to provide free on-campus evening care, available to all parents needing time to study during the week. Beginning this week and continuing throughout the semester, free care is available Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. To reserve one of the 16 spots, parents must contact Stephanie Legako 24 hours in advance at ccampischildcare@gmail.com.

Simmons said, although there are many resources available to parents on campus, she hopes that the university will make more nontraditional students aware of these programs; she didn’t know she was eligible for the CCAMPIS grant until Day on the Quad the first week of school.

“Being a nontraditional student, they don’t tell you all the options you have, especially being a single parent,” she said. “I don’t think they disclose all the options that you have like scholarships. I don’t think they’re talked about.”

To help nontraditional students who may be in the process of transitioning from full-time parent to full-time student, Simmons suggested the university present options, like assistance with childcare costs, to nontraditional students during registration before school begins.

“I think there should be more of a link to it when you’re signing up for school,” she said. “They should say, ‘Hey, if you have kids there is this resource. Here are some resources that are here for you.’”

For more information regarding childcare assistance for students visit usu.edu/aggiecare.

–manda.perkins@hotmail.com

Twitter: @perkins_manda