Northampton Community College (NCC) has received U.S. Department of Education funding through the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program to expand affordable, flexible childcare and comprehensive support services for Pell-eligible student-parents.

The four-year award totaling more than $2 million will help NCC remove a significant barrier to college completion for student-parents.

“Receiving the CCAMPIS grant is about far more than expanding access to childcare. It is about expanding access to possibility,” said NCC Director of Education & Early Childhood Education Lab Schools Dr. Nicole Rooney.

“For student-parents, the pursuit of an education often exists alongside the very real responsibility of caring for and providing for their children. No student should have to choose between being the parent their child needs and pursuing an education that can change their family’s future,” Rooney said.

Among 575 NCC parenting students surveyed, 82% reported that childcare was unaffordable. The grant will provide access to low- or no-cost childcare through NCC’s Keystone STARS 4-rated and NAEYC-accredited Child Care Centers.

The grant will allow NCC to expand educational choice and flexibility for student-parents at its Bethlehem and Pocono campuses.

The project, Parents and Children Together (PACT), is designed to help approximately 40 eligible students annually to remain enrolled, succeed academically and complete their programs.

A project director and family success coordinator will help assist the students with such aspects as navigating financial aid and developing academic success plans.

“I am incredibly proud that Northampton Community College has received this funding, but even more moved by what it represents for our students. Behind every number we report will be a parent who was able to stay enrolled, a child who had access to a high-quality early learning environment, and a family given greater opportunity to move forward together. That is the work. That is the impact. That is why this matters,” said Rooney.

NCC’s childcare centers offers flexible enrollment, including two-day and three-day schedules; before- and after-school care; school-closure coverage; summer programming, and drop-in care. This allows parents to select care based on their actual academic schedules, clinical rotations, internships and employment responsibilities.

NCC’s Child Care Centers are laboratory schools for the early childhood education program. High-achieving education students with a GPA of 3.5 or higher have opportunities to assist with programming through supervised service-learning and field experiences. This creates a two-way benefit where NCC expands its capacity to serve student-parents while providing future educators with meaningful hands-on experience.