Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) 2026

The Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) Program is a federal discretionary grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education, specifically through the Office of Postsecondary Education. The program is authorized under the Higher Education Act and is designed to support low-income parents who are pursuing postsecondary education. By addressing the barrier of child care access, the program aims to improve college persistence and completion rates among student-parents, particularly those eligible for Federal Pell Grants. The primary objective of the CCAMPIS program is to expand and support campus-based child care services at institutions of higher education. Funding is intended to either establish new child care programs or enhance existing services that primarily serve low-income students. In addition to direct child care services, institutions may use funds to provide before- and after-class care, as well as related support services that enable student-parents to remain enrolled and succeed academically. The program emphasizes affordability through the use of sliding fee scales and encourages leveraging institutional or local resources to sustain services. Eligible applicants include public and private institutions of higher education that meet statutory requirements, including having awarded at least $250,000 in Federal Pell Grant funds during the preceding fiscal year. Applicants must demonstrate the need for child care services among their student population, including data on demographics, local child care capacity, and unmet demand. Institutions must also provide a detailed plan for implementing or enhancing child care services, including coordination with early childhood education programs where applicable. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov and require completion of several components, including standard federal forms, a project narrative, budget narrative, and a program profile form. Applicants must follow federal registration requirements such as maintaining active accounts in SAM.gov and Grants.gov. The submission process involves detailed documentation of project design, management plans, evaluation strategies, and compliance assurances. Applications are evaluated through a competitive peer review process based on criteria such as need, quality of project design, management capacity, evaluation approach, and adequacy of resources. The total estimated funding for the program is over seventy-three million dollars, with individual annual awards typically ranging from one hundred fifty thousand dollars to one million dollars. The project period spans four years, and awards are issued annually based on continued performance and compliance. There is no cost-sharing or matching requirement, making the program more accessible to eligible institutions. Grantees are required to submit annual performance reports detailing outcomes such as student persistence and completion. The application cycle for this funding opportunity opened on April 20, 2026, with a submission deadline of May 29, 2026. An intergovernmental review deadline follows on July 28, 2026. The program operates on a recurring basis, typically offered annually. Applicants are encouraged to prepare early due to the complexity of requirements and the need for institutional coordination. For additional information or assistance, applicants may contact the program officer, Mose Cartier, via phone or email as provided in the official notice.

Prioritize demonstrating strong need through data on student parents and child care gaps; clearly align project design with required priorities including resource leveraging and sliding fee scale; provide detailed and feasible implementation timeline and evaluation plan