Texas Border Business
By Veronica Salinas
McALLEN, Texas – South Texas College (STC) has been awarded an estimated $2.1 million through the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) federal grant program, providing critical support for student parents and their children over the next four years.
The grant, which will be distributed incrementally throughout the four-year award period, will help STC continue providing childcare assistance to eligible student parents throughout the college district.
“This is an especially competitive CCAMPIS funding cycle, and we are hearing that many institutions, including some with long-standing CCAMPIS programs, will not receive awards,” said Andrew T. Fish, STC academic initiatives officer. “Securing continued funding for STC is therefore a significant accomplishment, and most importantly, ensures that this critical support remains available to our parenting students.”
Through Project ACCESS, STC will also expand childcare support beyond students who use the Mid-Valley Child Development Center by establishing partnerships with eligible, highly rated childcare providers throughout the college district.
“We are excited to have been selected to receive the CCAMPIS grant so that we may continue to support our student parents with childcare services,” said Bianca Diaz, Child Development program chair. “With this grant, we will begin to build strong collaborations with outside childcare centers and be able to bring childcare services to student parents at other campuses. Our goal is to bring quality childcare services to our student parents.”
For student parents currently utilizing the Mid-Valley Child Development Center, the grant can make a significant difference in their ability to balance their education and family responsibilities.
“It will continue to help our parents stay in school,” said Sylvia Serrano, Mid-Valley Child Development Center manager. “This grant pays for their child’s tuition at the center, and it has already helped so many students graduate from college since they do not have to worry about childcare expenses.”
The impact of that support is reflected in the experience of STC student and grant recipient Gizell Quintanilla, a single mother who said access to childcare has allowed her to focus fully on her education.
“Since I am a single mom, this grant has allowed me to enroll my kids into the center at no cost,” Quintanilla said. “It has allowed me to bring up my GPA from a 0.0 to a 3.11 by giving me peace of mind that my kids are being taken care of when I have class. I truly couldn’t do this without them.”
As STC begins the next four years of the CCAMPIS-funded project, it will build on the foundation established through its Mid-Valley Child Development Center, while working to make childcare assistance more accessible to student parents throughout STC’s service area.
“Receiving the CCAMPIS award for the next four years is an incredible honor and a tremendous opportunity to continue supporting the success of our student parents,” said Child Care Services Developer and CCAMPIS Grant Project Director Cecilia Villagran. “We are deeply grateful for this investment in STC and in the families we serve.”
For more information on the Mid-Valley Child Development Center, visit southtexascollege.edu/child-development-center/.
