Publication Date: 2003 Author: Boswell, Tracy Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education Campus Child Care Centers. ERIC Digest. There has been a dramatic change since 1975 when 'virtually no campus
child care)
The need for campus child care has increased in conjunction with the
steady increase in numbers of women faculty and student parents on America's
campuses. The
HOW MANY CAMPUS CHILD CARE CENTERS EXIST AND WHO ADMINISTERS THEM? There are currently about 2,500 campus child care centers serving the nation's 4,000+ institutions of higher education. (Yachnin, 2001; Boressof, 2002, p.4). According to the National Coalition for Campus Children's Center's (NCCCC) 2002 membership survey (n=223), 88% of the respondents' centers are located on campuses. Almost 35% are managed by an academic unit of the University and another 30% are managed by Student Affairs programs. Other reported agencies administering campus child care centers include individual/non-profit agencies (15%), offices of administration/financial services (12%), offices of personnel/human services (10%), contracted/outside vendors (4%), parent cooperatives (2%), and other (7%). The 223 survey respondents reported serving a total of 19,266 children in campus child care centers (NCCC, 2002, p.1). Ninety-two percent reported that they provided child care for student families, 83% for faculty, 83% for staff, and 68% for the community. (NCCC, 2002, p2). THE ROLE AND BENEFITS OF CAMPUS CHILD CARE CENTERS Once a child care center is established and recognized on a campus,
it can be
CHILD CARE CENTERS AS LABORATORIES Most campus child care centers began as small laboratories for college students, often for education students specializing in early elementary education. With the burgeoning need for campus child care since 1975, these laboratories have evolved into full-fledged child care programs (Yachnin, 2001). Many education departments and programs within colleges and universities can still profit by continuing to use the child care center as a setting in which college students can gain an invaluable applied experience. NCCCC 2002 membership statistics show that 46% of the 223 surveyed campus child care centers maintain a dual focus, providing service to parents attending or teaching classes and/or working on campus as well as serving as a laboratory site for the campus. This compared to 10% using their facilities solely to care for the children of students, faculty and staff (NCCCC, 2002). THE CAMPUS CHILD CARE AMENDMENT: CHILD CARE ACCESS MEANS PARENTS IN SCHOOL (CCAMPIS) While there are numerous institutional and state incentives designed
to attract students with child care needs to campuses, the federal government
also plays a role in encouraging low income parents with child care responsibilities
to enroll in postsecondary education. In 1998, Congress passed the Campus
Child Care
Congress awarded the CCAMPIS program $5 million in each of its first
two years;
THE FUTURE OF CAMPUS CHILD CARE The last twenty-five years have witnessed a tremendous increase in the development of child care on college campuses, with continued growth a possibility. Knowledge about actual campus experiences with sponsoring child care is beginning to accumulate and become available to researchers as well as to higher education administrators. REFERENCES American Association of University Professors (AAUP). (2001, September). Proposed Statement of Principles on Family Responsibilities and Academic Work. [On-line statement] Available: http://www.aaup.org/re01fam.htm. Boressoff, T. (2002, Winter). CCAMPIS Update: New Grants - Bush Cuts
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Legislative Commission on Expenditure Review (LCER) (1988). CUNY/SUNY Campus Child Care Program Audit. New York: Author. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service ED 300 892). Davis, B. (2002). 2002 Membership Data Analysis. National Coalition
for Campus
Kappner, A.S. (200). Across the Education Continuum: Child Care on the
College
Scott, K. (2001, April 11). Campus Child Care Keeps Single-Parent Students
on
Thomas, J.A. (1995). Child Care and Laboratory Schools on Campus: The National Picture. National Coalition for Campus Child Care, Inc. Iowa: University of Northern Iowa. Uhlengerg, J. (2001). Membership: Data Analysis. National Coalition
for Campus
U.S. Department of Education (19980). The Campus Child Care Provision of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Retrieved April 4, 2003 from the Department of Education website. Available: http://www.ed.gov/legislation/NEA/sec410.html. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,
NEDRC Table Library: Percentage Distribution of Undergraduates, by Number
of Dependents, and the Percentage of Single Parents: 1999-2000. April 4,
2003 from the Department of Education website. Available:
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education. Child Care Access Means Parents in Schools Program. Retrieved April 4, 2003 from the Department of Education website. Available: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/HEP/campisp/. Yachnin, J. (2001, February 2). Congress Puts More Money into Aid For
Child-Care Centers on Campuses. Retrieved April 4, 2003 from the Chronicle
of Higher Education Website. Available: http://ww.chronicle.com.
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