Earning a college degree can have a profound and far-reaching impact on the lives of student- parents and their children. However, without affordable, high-quality child care, the goal of a college education remains largely inaccessible for many of these individuals.
A new report from Generation Hope sheds light on the child-care needs of student-parents living in the D.C. region who participated in Generation Hope’s Scholar Program.
Among the report’s findings:
- Despite a strong determination to achieve their academic goals, gaps in child-care support highlight how caregiving responsibilities impact student-parents’ academic and personal well-being.
- The survey also brings to the forefront key factors that reinforce disparities in child care support and postsecondary attainment for Black and Latinx students, families, and communities. Ninety-five percent of respondents are students of color, and the significant barriers that they face in accessing consistent, quality child care mirror the experiences of families of color nationwide.
- Eighty-five percent respondents are relying on some form of public assistance. Nearly three-quarters of respondents are receiving two or more forms of public assistance, while 15 percent of respondents indicate that they are ineligible to receive basic aid and/or receive no basic aid.
- Ages of a student-parent’s children has a substantial effect on their academic persistence and momentum. Those with preschool-aged children have substantially less time for their studies compared to those without children.
- Despite the challenges that come with being a student parent across financial, academic, and time constraints, student-parents are determined to succeed. And the clear impact of a college degree on the life of a student-parent and their children should motivate higher education leaders and policymakers to rally to their cause.
The report also includes several recommendations. They include: collecting and tracking students’ parenting and caregiving statuses; providing more on-campus child care that is designed to specifically serve the needs of student-parents and their families; and invoking institutional policies that are flexible and adaptable and recognize that individual students’ situations may warrant different approaches.