‘A drop in the bucket’: Parents in college need child care, but federal dollars fall short – The Washington Post
With a $98,000 federal grant in 2018, Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland began providing free evening child care to low-income students four days a week.
The Education Department grant helped the campus expand the services of its Child Development Center, which has cared for and educated the children of students since 1977. A lot has changed since then. There are far more parents on campus and far more need for affordable, quality child care, said Tiffany Boykin, dean of student engagement.
When evening hours were added, it caught the attention of students, who flocked to the center to apply for nighttime and daytime slots. Evening care is at capacity. And the waiting list for daytime slots has grown from a few families to 45 people. While some are faculty and members of the community, most are students.
“If we had additional money, we could provide students more help,” Boykin said. “We are very appreciative of the money we received and have used every last dime. Our students have told us that without this support, they wouldn’t be able to attend.”