Three Los Rios Community College District campuses, including American River College, were awarded a federal grant on Oct 1 to help the Child Development Center for each campus.

The CDC applied for the Child Care Access Means Parents in School grant earlier this year and was awarded $283,000 per year for the next four years, according to Cheryl Watt, a CDC administrative assistant at ARC. 

Watt says the CDC is looking to use the funds to help financially support and provide workshops for young student parents at ARC. 

“The CDC will use CCAMPIS funds to support student parents by offering care for infants and toddlers, providing family workshops, improving infant and toddler environments, and supporting early childhood education students,” Watt said in an email to the Current. 

Watt added that the program strives to get better every year, and the CCAMPIS allows the program to help in several ways. She says the CDC is always looking to improve the program, both with the staff and materials, in order to create a bigger impact on the students and community. 

“These funds will benefit our infant-toddler programs by allowing us to hire additional staff and provide an excellent teacher to child ratio, as well as improve our classroom and outdoor materials for children,” Watt said.

The CDC hopes to use its new funds to not only help improve the program but to also inspire students who may be looking to join. The program looks to aid aspiring infant and toddler teachers that can help push the program forward, according to Marie Jones, an early childhood education faculty member. 

“The addition of an infant program and the enhancement of our existing toddler program will benefit students aspiring to become infant-toddler teachers,” Jones said in an email to the Current. 

Jones also says the new funds will help to bolster the program’s reputation as one of the top early childhood education programs for community colleges. The program strived to give new opportunities for students, teachers, and administrators to show their knowledge with the community.

“The [CDC] has earned the reputation of being a model early education program. This funding will allow the Center to continue in this role,” Jones said. “This type of modeling [means] that future and current teachers and administrators have an opportunity to bring what they are learning to the community, furthering the impact of our program.”

For more information on the CDC or to sign up for the program, visit the ARC CDC website here.