TWU receives $736K grant to support student parents

Oct. 14, 2019 — DENTON — Texas Woman’s University has been awarded a $736,848 multi-year grant to bolster college attendance and success rates for TWU’s student parents.

Awarded through the U. S. Department of Education’s Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program, the grant provides funding to help cover child-care expenses for low-income student parents at TWU. The four-year grant will be administered through Texas Woman’s Campus Alliance for Resource Education (CARE) office in Student Life. 

TWU students who receive Pell grants will be eligible to apply for the program beginning in November 2019. 

“We know that by reducing or removing the barrier of the cost of child care it will have a positive impact on the graduation rates of our student parents,” said Amy O’Keefe, executive director of CARE. “In addition to increasing graduation rates, this grant will give us the opportunity to help our students become empowered parents through workshops and training.”

TWU will leverage local and institutional resources to partner with Denton-area child care centers and provide needs-based vouchers, which would be funded on a sliding scale. The grant is expected to fund 377 monthly child-care vouchers over each nine-month period, for an average of 42 vouchers per month. Students will have the opportunity to find a child-care center that best fits their needs and budget.

Additionally, the grant will fund family life skills training for student parents.

This allocation marks the first time TWU has received CCAMPIS program funds. The grant covers 91.5% of total project costs with the remaining 8.5% coming from institutional resources. 

For additional information, please contact the Campus Alliance for Resource Education office at care@twu.edu or 940-898-2789.