On brisk fall afternoons, it is not unusual to spot a mega-stroller, loaded up with six tiny people in puffy coats, moseying its way across the Quad. While it might seem surprising to see babies on a college campus, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research recently reported that student-parents make up nearly 25 percent of all undergraduate students in the United States.

To ensure these student-parents succeed in finishing their postsecondary education, the University has taken measures to alleviate the burden of finding and paying for day care services. The Child Care Access Means Parents In School program (CCAMPIS) provides low-income student-parents with campus-based childcare services for little to no cost.

To qualify for the grant, the full-time student must be a United States citizen, have a child between six weeks old and four years old, and must be receiving or be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant.

T’Keyah Loggins, freshman in Media, is one of 11 students in the CCAMPIS program this year. Her 2-year-old daughter Kamiya is cared for at the Child Development Laboratory (CDL) in Urbana while Loggins goes to class during the day.

“Both (the CDL and the CCAMPIS program) have been really helpful,” Loggins said. “My daughter’s learning a lot, and CCAMPIS has offered a lot of resources for things that I haven’t been able to find on my own, and answers to questions I am not sure where to look for.”

Loggins said she knew before arriving on campus in August that she would need to find suitable childcare services for Kamiya. After researching on the Internet, Loggins found out that she was eligible to receive childcare services at the CDL. She quickly learned though, that despite eligibility for the program, the CDL only accepts a limited amount of children because of space restrictions, and she was denied her first application.

Melissa Brown, CCAMPIS program coordinator, said the CDL is at full capacity with children of faculty, staff, students and community members, with each group making up 25 percent of the lab’s facilities. Brown said there are a few student-parents on the waiting list, and that she tries to give preference to students with junior and senior standing so they can finish getting their degrees. When an available spot opened up, Brown called Loggins to share the good news.

“I view it as a great opportunity for people who have these dreams to pursue something more and just need an education to do it. It knocks down one more barrier that could get in their way to get the education that they deserve just like anyone else,” Brown said. “It’s huge that they’re here, and they want to learn, and they want to be in this academic environment.”

The federal CCAMPIS grant was previously available on campus between 2001 and 2005, but the University did not receive the grant again until 2009. This fall is the first semester that the program has been put to use.

Tiffany White, senior in AHS, is not a part of the CCAMPIS program, but said day care is still an essential part of pursuing her degree. Her 7-month-old daughter Brooke goes to Little Hearts and Hands Day Care during the week while she works and attends classes.

Because White is eligible for Child Care Resource Service (CCRS), she only has to pay $31 per week to the school and for childcare. Without help from the CCRS program, costs for the same childcare would have been $245 a week.

She said the Women, Infants and Children program (WIC) has also helped provide her with baby formula, and she works 25 hours per week to defray the cost of diapers. Despite the financial struggles and the early wake-up calls (she gets up at 5:30 a.m. every day), White said being a full-time student and a full-time parent is “do-able.”

“It’s difficult but you can do it as long as you know where to find the resources,” White said. “(Now) I use all the time that I have more productively and more wisely.”

Becoming a young mom has also forced White to become more independent: she learned how to drive and bought her first car so that she could run errands more easily.

“(Having Brooke) has made me more responsible, in the sense that now I know I am responsible for somebody else’s life,” White said. “When it comes to driving, I probably still would not have a license and would be taking the bus.”

Brown said the students who are in the CCAMPIS program are not all single mothers; in fact, two of the students receiving childcare services are fathers and several are married. Apart from childcare, benefits of the program include access to community resources and monthly support meetings with other young parents in the program. Brown said one of the biggest challenges that student-parents face is finding the support they need when they seek assistance.

“I’ve been impressed with their perseverance and determination to find a way to meet the needs of their families and kids,” Brown said. “This might be the first time these student-parents have had to reach out for help in that kind of way. They look beyond themselves when asking for help.”