LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) — The Virginia Foundation for Community College Education (VFCCE) has awarded a grant to Central Virginia Community College (CVCC) to participate in the College Attainment for Parent Students (CAPS) Pilot Project.
CVCC is one of five colleges that has been selected to provide support for student parents through VFCCE. Support of $50,000 annually per college will be made to each of the colleges from December 2022 to November 2023, CVCC said.
The funding is renewable for December 2023 to November 2024, contingent upon successful participation. This program will be used to develop a blueprint that can be replicated by colleges across the country, CVCC also said.
CVCC said the benefits to student parents and children will include the following:
- Individualized student support with coaching, direct financial assistance, and technology support
- Increased employment and income opportunities by improving the likelihood of completing a credential of value
- Participation in a cohort of single mothers providing peer mentoring and recognition of systemic challenges
- Improved quality early childhood education access through support for childcare and children's activities
- Assistance in the identification of paid internship opportunities within a student's degree path
- Recognition of persistence and achievement and support for children, including age-appropriate learning materials
“Single parents who struggle in low-wage jobs face disproportionate challenges as they strive to forge a better life for themselves and their children,” said President Dr. John Capps. “Through the CAPS pilot project, CVCC will provide these parent students with the coaching, training, and support they need to secure employment in high-demand fields, thus breaking the cycle of poverty and replacing it with economic mobility.”
CVCC’s research revealed that childcare access and availability for student parents on or near the CVCC campus is inadequate to serve the population of children who need care. CVCC serves the City of Lynchburg and the counties of Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, and Campbell. Using the Center for American Progress U.S. Child Care Desert map, each of the counties has a scarce supply of childcare, indicating that they are a childcare desert (Center for American Progress, 2022), CVCC said.
According to a Virginia Department of Social Services online database, there are 114 licensed and unlicensed childcare facilities in the region. U.S. Census data for 2020 indicates that there are 13,378 children under the age of five in the region.
A website review and phone calling survey conducted by CVCC staff in October 2022 to the childcare centers in the region revealed limited availability for infant and toddler care as well as little or no care offered outside of a traditional workday schedule, CVCC said.
“We are immensely grateful for this grant and the opportunity to provide added support for parenting students,” added Dr. Capps. “We are committed to improving outcomes for students by supporting them in achieving their educational and career goals, and anyway we can remove barriers for them is a win.”
As a grant recipient, CVCC will provide additional direct student support for the cohort of student parents. Student enrollment and retention rates are projected to increase alongside course success rates, which will decrease the time to degree completion, according to CVCC.
CVCC student parents will benefit from the enhanced programs and services and will become part of a community of other student parents who face similar challenges. This initiative will allow CVCC to become more informed with data and documented outcomes to facilitate positive change to strengthen families in our communities, CVCC said.
"CVCC looks forward to welcoming more students on campus thanks to the added financial resources provided by the VFCCE, expanding the endless opportunities that start here," CVCC said.