Federal grants help low-income student parents afford child care

What it does

This bill reauthorizes and expands the CCAMPIS program, which provides federal grants to colleges and universities to help student parents access affordable child care. Eligible institutions (those with at least 150 Pell Grant recipients) can receive $75,000 to $2 million annually for five years to establish or support campus-based child care, subsidized services, and before/after-school programs. The bill prioritizes institutions that leverage local resources and serve single parents, requires quality standards within three years, and mandates annual reporting on outcomes. Student parents benefit through reduced child care costs and improved access; institutions gain federal funding to expand services.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is a straightforward federal grant program designed to reduce child care barriers for low-income student parents pursuing higher education. It is a public-benefit program with clear eligibility criteria, funding caps, and accountability measures.

What the text implies

• Quality standards (Head Start equivalency or state tier-one rating within 3 years) may create compliance costs for smaller or rural institutions, potentially limiting participation in underserved areas.
• Sliding-fee scales and subsidy structures are institution-designed; variation across campuses may create inequities in affordability for similar-income students at different schools.
• Reporting requirements on student outcomes (retention, graduation, transfer) create accountability but may incentivize institutions to prioritize students perceived as lower-risk, potentially excluding the most vulnerable student parents.
• Program does not fund construction (only renovation/repair), which may limit new capacity in areas with no existing campus child care infrastructure.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Low-income student parents gain direct access to subsidized child care, reducing a major barrier to completing postsecondary education. The program includes quality standards, sliding-fee scales, and connections to other safety-net benefits, strengthening both affordability and program quality.

Who stands to gain

• Eligible institutions of higher education (grant recipients)
• Child care providers contracted by institutions
• Student parents (subsidy recipients)

Named in the bill

U.S. Department of Education (Secretary), Eligible institutions of higher education, Student parents, Child care providers, Head Start program, State child care quality rating systems

Where it stands

17 cosponsors: 17 Democrats.

• Sep 18, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Sep 18, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

2 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Dec 2025 to Dec 2025. Those filings disclosed $1,010,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 43 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 41% of bills with at least one filing.

Tammy Duckworth, the sponsor, reported $148,182 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees — $690,000 on 1 filing
• Bunge North America, Inc — $320,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jan 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.