The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Salt Lake
Community College a four-year, $1.1 million grant to expand its Tim & Brenda Huval Child Care Center at the school’s South City Campus.
Funds from the grant, which is part of the federal Child
Care Access Means Parents In School (CCAMPIS) program, will allow the college to
expand center hours until 10 p.m. on weekdays, hire more full-time staff, and
add classrooms at the facility, effectively doubling capacity to 180 enrolled
children.
The college will match the four-year grant by applying
$390,000, or 36 percent of the project cost, for student childcare vouchers and to support one-time
renovation and ongoing program costs. The
federal grant makes up 64 percent of project costs and runs
through September 2022.
SLCC’s ultimate
goal for the center’s expansion is to increase college retention and completion
among its student parents by making childcare more accessible and
cost-effective. Currently, 39 percent of Pell Grant recipients at SLCC support dependents,
and single parents made up 43 percent the school’s student parent population
during the 2017-18 year. In order to use the services at the Tim and Brenda
Huval Child Care Center, student parents must be Pell Grant eligible, and they
are required to meet with an academic advisor at least once, promoting enrollment
in courses that advance academic and career progress.
