Skip to main content

Campus Child Care Has Become Less Available. A New Partnership Aims to Change That

The number of on-campus child-care centers has declined over the last 10 years, with the steepest declines taking place in the community-college sector.

To combat these issues, the National Head Start Association and the Association of Community College Trustees announced a partnership that is meant to put more child-care facilities on campuses.

This article describes how the partnership could work: Community colleges would offer rent-free space on their campuses to Head Start providers. That exchange would allow providers to reach a 20- percent requirement of philanthropic funding they need to raise to open. The Head Start programs would be free for community-college students with children who qualify. Head Start works with local agencies to provide educational activities, wellness programs, and other services for infants, toddlers, and children up to age 5, and also offers support for parents. Federal funding makes Head Start free.

Almost half of all students who have children are enrolled in community college, according to the Association of Community College Trustees.