The Education Department awarded campus child care grants to far fewer colleges this fall and student parents said the change left them struggling to find care.
The department gave 40 grants through the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program, which had been expected to fund about 148 colleges. In the department’s last grant competition in 2021, it funded 327 colleges.
The Education Department did not explain the gap but said the decision aligned with the administration’s policy objectives, the Washington Post reported.
Department Funded 40 Colleges Instead of 148
CCAMPIS is a $75 million federal program that gives four-year grants to colleges that provide child care on campus or in the surrounding community.
It has existed since 1999 and served about 11,000 low-income student parents. This year, the Department of Health and Human Services ran the competition on behalf of the Education Department, and nearly 300 campuses applied.
The department planned about 148 grants of $150,000 to $1 million a year. The grants totaled just over $71 million, and about $18 million of that went out this year, with the rest to be paid over the next three years.
A report noted that both Donald Trump’s and Joe Biden’s administrations front-loaded CCAMPIS funds in recent years, which reduces the number of colleges that receive awards.
Students’ Parents Said They Cut Courses or Left School
Fewer awards forced some students to cut back on courses or stop attending.
Larissa Saucillo, 33, had been working toward a nursing degree and had secured a slot for her 5-year-old daughter in her college’s evening child care program, which was backed by a federal grant.
Only 38 percent of community colleges offer on-campus child care. In Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin–Madison said it was not selected after receiving funding for 27 years. No Wisconsin institution appeared on the list of awardees, the university said.
The grants covered 75 percent to 95 percent of participating parents’ child care bills, per college officials quoted in a review.
Administration Said the Move Fit Its Policy Goals
President Trump twice proposed eliminating CCAMPIS, saying it was misaligned with the Education Department’s purpose and would be better run by HHS. The administration shifted management of the program to HHS last year through an interagency agreement, with the Education Department in a supervisory role.
The 2026 competition also added a priority for applications that expanded “education choice” in early learning settings and encouraged drop-in care and care during nontraditional hours, per Community College Daily.
In 2025, the Education Department also ended grants for more than a dozen colleges, claiming they did not hire staff based on merit or hired staff who taught gender identity and racial justice.
