Child Care Access Means Parents In School (CCAMPIS)

CCAMPIS

Child Care Access Means Parents In School

“Having the CCAMPIS Grant has allowed my children to attend and experience wonderful social and developmental exchanges between instructors as well as peers their age, which has offered so much peace of mind while I attend classes. The financial assistance is the only reason I am able to afford going to school in the first place to achieve a higher education, without the grant it would simply not be possible at this time in my life. I am able to utilize the time my children are in school to attend classes, maintain appointments, and keep up with responsibilities I have at our home. I cannot say enough about how much this grant has improved my life and the lives of my children.”

—2022 Grant participant

The Child Care Access Means Parents In School (CCAMPIS) grant is a federal program of the U.S. Department of Education that assists parents with the cost of keeping their children enrolled in a quality child care center. Students must be PELL grant eligible or be eligible under Pell grant income guidelines. In addition, students must be enrolled in classes at Portland State University and have their children enrolled in the Helen Gordon Child Development Center, a licensed and accredited child care center. Families who meet the requirements of the CCAMPIS grant will receive a subsidy, payable to the Helen Gordon Child Development Center, for child care tuition fees.

Please note that our current PSU 4-year CCAMPIS grant concludes on September 30, 2026. At this time, we are only accepting and processing applications for the remainder of the grant’s term, ending September 30, 2026. While we are taking in applications for potential scholarships for the upcoming academic year, we have not yet received notification regarding the renewal of our grant. Consequently, we cannot guarantee scholarship awards for the academic year beginning October 1, 2026. We will share an update as soon as a decision is finalized.

The criteria for eligibility includes:

Be an undergraduate student at PSU
Recipient or eligible to receive a Pell Grant
Must be low-income as determined by the USDA Income Eligibility guidelines.

Before starting your application, please read the following guidelines:

I understand that the goal of the CCAMPIS program is to assist me with child care expenses so that I can succeed in completing credits towards my certificate or degree program.
I understand I must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 to apply to the program and must retain this GPA while participating in the CCAMPIS Grant and receiving financial assistance for child care services.
I understand that I must be enrolled in 8 undergraduate credits each quarter that the CCAMPIS Grant is awarded to me. My participation in the program is dependent upon my successful completion of quarter credits on a consistent basis towards earning my degree.
I understand that I will be required to complete regular program surveys as this is essential to ongoing funding of the CCAMPIS Grant.
I understand that in order to receive financial assistance from the program my child(ren) must be attending the Helen Gordon Child Development Center.
I understand and give permission for the CCAMPIS Grant Personnel and Program Manager, Jennifer Mohler, to access my personal financial information through the USDA Confidential income statement as well as my academic information through PSU.
I understand that aggregate information but no personal information will be shared with the U.S. Department of Education in Washington D.C. who funds this program.
I understand that I must contact the CCAMPIS Grant coordinator of any changes in the information provided on this application within 10 calendar days of the change. Failure to report such changes could result in a forfeit of grant funds.
I understand that I must complete the annual confidential survey in order to participate in this grant funded project.

Apply now