Grant to reduce childcare costs for needy students

A four-year $427,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education will be used to reduce the childcare costs of low-income UCCS students.

Ida Bauer, director, Family Development Center, was recently notified of a first-year $106,753 award from the “Child Care Access Means Parents in School Program” from the U.S. Department of Education. The four-year grant will bring a total of $427,012 to the campus service that provides care for the young children of students, faculty, staff and community members.

“This is great news for our students who often need the most help,” Bauer said.

The grant funds will be used to reduce the cost of childcare for students who qualify as low-income. This year, Bauer estimates that about 60 students will see their childcare bills reduced by 30 to 45 percent.

“This grant makes the UCCS Family Development Center less expensive for students than even the cheapest options available in our community,” Bauer said. “Knowing that your child is across the street from where you are taking classes, and receiving excellent care, allows students to concentrate on their studies and be successful.”

Joy and Jeremy Tredway recently shared their experience with the FDC. Joy Treadway, an Air Force officer, was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 and Jeremy Tredway enrolled the couple’s then three-year-old daughter, Jasper at the Family Development Center so that he could attend classes at UCCS.

“Knowing that my daughter was loved and cared for by my husband and the women at the FDC meant everything to me,” Joy Tredway wrote. “It meant literally everything – I couldn’t hug my baby. I couldn’t watch her grow. I could hardly talk to her on the phone. This was everything to me at the most difficult time of my life.”

The UCCS Family Development Center received the grant, in part, because of the large number of low-income students at UCCS. Student income status is verified in conjunction with the Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment. As much as 40 percent of the freshman class will receive a Federal Pell Grant, a need-based grant for low-income undergraduate students.

“As UCCS has grown, we – as an institution – have attracted more low-income students, many of whom have children,” Bauer explain. “This grant is a direct benefit of that growth.”

Bauer will review the financial status of students who currently have children at the FDC and notify them of reduced monthly bills. She expects those notices to go out by Monday, September 22 and for a positive reaction.

“Most people, when they see a letter with a bill, expect the worst,” Bauer said. “I think this grant, and the corresponding price reduction that it creates, will help a lot of students to succeed since access to affordable, quality child care is directly linked to parental success in school. Additionally, it will reduce their need for student loans over the four years by as much as $14,000 which will also make them happy for many years.”

Students, faculty or staff interested in learning more about openings at the FDC should contact Susan Mahoney, 255-3483 or [email protected].