COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. Current and future students at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs may be eligible for assistance with child-care expenses, according to the terms of a four-year $168,000 federal grant.
Ida Bauer, director, Family Development Center, announced receipt of a Child Care Access Means Parents in School grant Oct. 26. The grant is funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
“The potential of this grant to help low-income students achieve their goal of attending college while still caring for their families is incredible,” Bauer said. “We are pleased to be part of helping students balance school and family responsibilities while they build a future.”
Although details are still being determined, plans are for low-income students to receive an approximately 25 percent discount on costs associated with day care at the Family Development Center. That discount has a value of more than $2,000 annually. Eligibility will be determined by the same federal standards that provide Pell grants.
At UCCS, more than 1,800 students are eligible for Pell grants and there were more than 70 specific requests for child-care assistance last year. Bauer estimated that more than 115 current UCCS students will be eligible for the reduced fees and that thousands of potential students exist throughout southern Colorado.
The Family Development Center is the campus child-care center at UCCS and offers full- and part-time learning programs for children ages one through 10. The center has 150 children who are enrolled year-round and has been in operation for eight years. This is the first major grant the FDC has received.
UCCS, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in northeast Colorado Springs, is the fastest growing university in Colorado and one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The university offers 25 bachelor’s degrees, 17 master’s and two doctoral degrees. The campus enrolls about 7,800 students annually.