The “Child Care Access Means Parents in School” program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

The College of Education is pleased to announce that Professor Will Parnell has been awarded a new grant from the U.S. Department of Education from the “Child Care Access Means Parents in School” program. The anticipated $2,289,440 federal CCAMPIS grant will be dispersed over four years and covers 100 percent of the cost of the program, with no additional funding from non-federal sources. The grant will help Portland State student families with children who attend the on campus Helen Gordon Child Development Center (HGCDC).

Dr. Parnell, professor of Early Childhood Education and Curriculum and Instruction at Portland State, past president of the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators, and Principal Investigator (PI)of this grant was elated with this news. He thanked his colleagues for their collaboration, including researcher and co-writer Twila Nesky, former HGCDC director Ellie Justice, current HGCDC director Lynn Green, Laura West, current CCAMPIS program manager, HGCDC teachers, and several graduate students, Leah Eads and Mai Ide, for their tremendous support of the CCAMPIS project. 

“This is our fifth successful federal CCAMIPS grant, so we will help a new generation of student families coming through the accredited Helen Gordon Center,” says Dr. Parnell. Accreditation is a requirement for this grant. “We are seeking additional and similar funding for the remaining three campus programs to support even more students with children,” he says. “They all could use more supports as our good colleagues in PSU’s Resource Center for Students with Children can attest!”

Dr. Parnell’s focused collaboration with HGCDC directors, including former director Ellie Justice and new director Lynn Green, has brought in more than $14 million to support on-campus children’s programming. The awards have funded construction and renovation of campus child care programs and family-friendly spaces, expansion of services and programs, and child care tuition subsidies to PSU student families. More than 16 years of Dr. Parnell’s applied research from the grants has resulted in practical and equitable solutions that lead to enduring success for student parents and families. 

“Giving student parents the opportunity to secure safe quality care for their children through the support of this grant makes all the difference for these families.”

~Lynn Green, Director, Helen Gordon Child Development Center,
Portland State University

Dr. Parnell notes: “This new award will help a lot of students achieve their dreams of an education with their child in a nearby and quality center (with which I have worked for over 25 years now)! The grant also pays for a few teachers, two student teachers, classroom supplies, and some amazing technology for the classrooms. We have come to understand that financial support for student parents through CCAMPIS directly influences student achievements, reduces family-life stressors, and increases GPAs, retention and completion of certificates, programs, and degrees. We can show that subsidized, on-campus, and accredited child care access offers student families a real chance at obtaining the education they seek. This in turn increases their livelihood and quality of lived experiences during and after graduation from PSU. This grant is producing an upward spiral and trajectory for student families. 

“Further, each iteration of this federal grant has more widely opened the doors to creating additional campus family-friendly places and a broader sense of belonging for student families on campus. For example, we probably would not have infant and toddler care on campus without CCAMPIS. There are many important and integral child care service-support tendrils coming from the work on these grants across time!”

The new federal CCAMPIS grant will help the Helen Gordon Center’s student families and provide much needed resources for scholarships and materials. Discretionary grants from the program go to support parent attendance at PSU by providing scholarships for campus-based child care services. 

“This grant is especially meaningful to our student parents who often have a touch decision to make when it comes to their ability to attend school. Giving student parents the opportunity to secure safe quality care for their children through the support of this grant makes all the difference for these families,” says Lynn Green, director of the Helen Gordon Child Development Center at Portland State University.

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By Sherron Lumley