Wisconsin Technical Colleges Lose Federal Child Care Funding for Student Parents

For years, the bills Devvin Thomas Sr. received each semester for his son’s campus child care were a fraction of typical market rates: four hundred dollars one semester, ten dollars the next, and sometimes nothing at all. That reduced-cost arrangement allowed Thomas to study for his small business entrepreneurship degree at Madison College while working toward his dream of running a cafe and soup kitchen. But this month, the federal support underpinning that stability vanished entirely, leaving student parents across Wisconsin scrambling to adjust their course loads and pay unexpected bills, Wisconsin Watch reported.

The sudden shift stems from a drastic contraction in the federal Child Care Access Means Parents in School Program, known as CCAMPIS. The U.S. Department of Education awarded just 40 grants nationwide in the latest funding round—a steep drop compared to previous years. Wisconsin technical colleges, including Madison, Milwaukee, and Western, applied in the latest competition, but none received funding.

For Thomas, the loss materialized as a sudden seventeen-hundred-dollar bill. It was a severe shock to the family budget. To keep his son enrolled and continue his own education, Thomas and his household are prioritizing tuition payments over utility bills, risking late payments on basic household expenses to keep him in the classroom.

Federal Grant Disruptions Threaten Campus Child Care

The CCAMPIS program has operated since 1999 as a competitive, four-year grant designed to help low-income college students afford campus-based child care. Over the years, institutions have leaned heavily on these awards to build out infrastructure, hire staff, and subsidize tuition for parenting students. However, the program faced disruptions in recent administration cycles. The Biden administration did not hold a grant competition in 2024, and the Trump administration skipped the process in 2025 while proposing the complete elimination of the program.

When the U.S. Department of Education finally opened a competition for four-year grants this year, federal documents indicated plans to award 148 schools—already a reduction from past cycles. The final tally of just 40 awards left higher education administrators stunned. Madison College, which first secured CCAMPIS funding in 2005, received a rejection letter noting a perfect score for its past use of grant money but offering no reason for the denial.

Stephanie Baker, a higher education senior policy manager at the left-leaning think tank New America, discussed how unpredictable the situation has been for colleges trying to plan and compete for grant funds.

The Human and Economic Stakes on Campus

At community and technical colleges, student parents make up a significant portion of the student body. While many institutions do not officially track parental status, Kari Reyburn, Western’s director of student life, equity and engagement, estimated that parents could account for up to half of the population at some technical campuses. These students often perform well academically, but their external responsibilities make them uniquely vulnerable to dropping out when financial supports disappear.

The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families estimates that putting an infant in a child care center costs over $17,400 per year—nearly a quarter of the median household income in the state. Historically, CCAMPIS grants covered 75% to 95% of participating parents’ child care bills, allowing hundreds of families to stay enrolled. Without that cushion, administrators report that students are cutting their credit loads, pulling children from campus facilities, or rethinking their academic timelines entirely.

If there’s nobody to take care of their children, they will not be able to be in class, said Madison College President Jennifer Berne.

Berne warned that the loss will likely prevent some students from finishing their credentials or significantly delay their graduation dates. At Madison College, roughly 120 students have used CCAMPIS support to complete degrees since 2018. This semester, families of 34 children were slated to receive assistance before the funding evaporated.

Scrambling for Interim Solutions

Beyond direct tuition relief, the federal grants supported broader campus ecosystems. Western Technical College in La Crosse planned to use incoming funds for staff retention bonuses and to hire student workers through apprenticeships and internships. Liz Wallace, director of grants at Western, noted that the abrupt halt broke a critical continuity of service that many students factored into their decision to enroll.

Colleges are now attempting to bridge the gap through alternative channels. The Madison College Foundation stepped in with a $30,000 gift to help families cover a fraction of their costs this semester. While helpful, it falls far short of the roughly $300,000 in annual federal dollars the school received over the last four years.

Administrators are also lobbying federal lawmakers to address the shortfall, arguing that cutting child care assistance ultimately undermines workforce development and community equity. For students like Thomas, the policy shift risks closing the door on the exact educational tools designed to help working parents build long-term economic stability.

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