New Grant Funding To Provide More Affordable Childcare to CGTC Students

November 16, 2018


titan strong logoWarner Robins, Ga – Addressing one of the most onerous barriers to postsecondary education, the Child Development Centers (CDC) at Central Georgia Technical College (CGTC) are launching a new childcare tuition support project for students with dependent children, funded entirely by the award of a recent federal grant.

The Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) grant from the U.S. Department of Education will fund the “Start Titan Strong” project to aid credit-enrolled, Pell Grant-eligible CGTC students in need of childcare. As the only grantee in the state of Georgia, CGTC was awarded $511,936 over four years in CCAMPIS grant funds for the project.

Fundamental to the Start Titan Strong project is its support for students who are not eligible for other childcare tuition assistance.quick launch logo

Affordable, quality childcare is what the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) called “crucial” to the postsecondary success of the 4.8 million undergraduates nationwide raising dependent children.

IWPR’s 2016 Fact Sheet regarding the federal CCAMPIS grant says the need for funding arose because students with children are, “especially unlikely to complete programs of higher education within 6 years of enrollment.”

“When parents of young children juggle classes, work, and caring for their children, life becomes a balancing act. It only takes one misstep to spell disaster. When life happens, a parent’s education, and the opportunities it brings, are often put on hold,” said Brett Copeland, the assistant director of Childcare at CGTC, citing the importance of long-term economic security for families, but also its direct impact on parents pursuing technical education.

Without support, students with dependent children often do not see a way to earn a credential with the College or begin advancing in a new career program, creating a crippling cycle of income challenges.

“Through Start Titan Strong childcare tuition subsidies, supported by CCAMPIS funds, we can remove a barrier for many parents; we can connect them to and support them through their educational journey, and help them enter the workforce.”

Target goals of the project include guiding student parents to successful earning of a credential and participation in family engagement activities.

Funding also allows maximization of on-campus childcare capacity, and the pursuit of National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accreditation for the Macon campus CDC, joining its sister program as one of the few accredited centers in the area.

CDC locations on the College’s Macon and Warner Robins campuses are now accepting applications from students for this program.

Students are able to submit an application for their dependent children at any time. A family fee based on a sliding eligibility scale is required. While Pell eligibility is a requirement for grant funding for each student, Quick Launch, a bridge program for short-term childcare tuition support between college enrollment and other childcare tuition support eligibility, exists to help students. For a maximum of 60 calendar days, CGTC’s CDCs will use grant funding to aid eligible student-parents until another aid is processed or determined.

CGTC CDC’s serve children three years old and children who turn four by September four of the current school year.

Informational flyers are available here:

Macon Early Childhood Learning Center Tuition Flyer

Warner Robins Child Development Center Tuition Flyer

Start Titan Strong and Quick Launch Handout

For more information, contact Brett Copeland at bcopeland@centralgatech.edu or call 478-757-3492.

Photos: Start Titan Strong and Quick Launch logos.