Systems, Policies, and Programs

Theresa Anderson; Autumn R. Green; Julia Payne; Ayesha Islam

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Student-Parent Families at the Center

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Systems, Policies, and Programs

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Systems, Policies, and Programs

More research briefs and fact sheets to come. Topics with forthcoming publications denoted by an asterisk.

College access and success policies
Colleges have varied policies and practices to recruit and support students with children.

Recruitment and outreach
Orientation and registration
Class scheduling
Academic, basic needs, and legal supports
Health and mental health services offered by colleges
On-campus dining and college-provided food supports
Student-parent data collection*
Title IX
The Civil Rights Act
Americans with Disabilities Act protections
Family-friendly campuses*
- On-campus family housing*
- Inclusive classroom learning experiences
- Student-parent-specific services, spaces, and policies*
Federal policies on minors on campus
Higher education funding
College accountability policies and practices
- Accreditation bodies
- Regulations on for-profit colleges

Tuition assistance and federal student aid
Tuition assistance and federal student aid encompass a range of resources to make college economically viable for students.

Pell Grants
Scholarships
Free Application for Federal Student Aid and expected family contribution, including child care allowances
Federally subsidized loans
Private loans
Work-study
Cost of higher education and return on investment
Student debt and loan cancellation or forgiveness*
College income-share or outcome agreements

Employment and the labor market
In addition to family and school responsibilities, 70 percent of undergraduate student parents are engaged in the employment and labor market, more than their nonparenting counterparts.

Nondiscrimination policies
Minimum wage and wage equity
Family leave
Unemployment insurance
Employer tuition support or training
Work-based learning (paid and unpaid)
Predictable and flexible hours
Remote work opportunities and policies

Early childhood education and care
Access to child care, including regular care, periodic care, and after-school care, is a critical support for student parents to focus on their studies.

Child Care and Development Fund subsidies
Head Start and Early Head Start*
PreK and 3K education and care
College child care (CCAMPIS)
College child care (self-funded, private, and partnerships)*
After-school care
General child care supply and availability
Child care quality issues
On-demand, drop-in, and back-up child care
Resource and referral centers

Social safety net programs
Student-parent families with low income may be eligible for certain social safety net programs that can support them as they continue their education.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, and Free- and Reduced-Price Lunch
Public and subsidized housing
Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program
Heat and energy assistance
Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance (adult and child)

Taxes and tax benefits*
As student parents are usually the head of the household and are likely to be engaged in paid work, the tax system can play a role in supporting their family.

Income taxes*
Tax credits for families with children*
Higher education tax benefits for students*
Affordable tax software and preparation

Universal and community-based supports
Community-based and universal flexible supports can help fill gaps where government programs do not cover needs or where colleges do not have the bandwidth to provide services and resources.

Stimulus payments
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funding
Private lending, credit, debt, and bankruptcy services
Nonprofit organization supports

Public preK–12 education*
Student parents are also responsible for decisions around their children’s education and are impacted by the public preK–12 education system.

Local and state preK and 3K policies
Elementary and secondary education quality
School logistics, including hours, location, and transportation
School choice and out-of-district attendance policies
School expectations of parent engagement and involvement*
Health and mental health services offered through schools or districts
Individualized Education Plan and special needs policies
After-school programs offered through schools or districts
Postsecondary education counseling and navigation services
Services for pregnant and parenting high school students

Workforce and training systems
The workforce system can support college attendance and bridge parenting students to careers.

Individual Training Accounts
American Job Centers and workforce development system
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education and Training
Non-credit-bearing job training

Infrastructure
Infrastructure encompasses the systems and policies that help student parents meet basic needs and succeed in education.

Technology infrastructure and supports
Transportation
Housing and rental market
Health infrastructure
Mental health infrastructure
Data systems (state or federal)

Situational systems*
Some policy systems are targeted to certain populations, which often layer on top of other policy areas and introduce complexity.

Child welfare and foster care system
Child support system
Fatherhood programs
Veterans’ services and military (and spousal) benefits
Immigration system and services
Justice system
Additional support for people with disabilities and neurodiversity
Teen and young parent programs
Tribal policies

Intersectional identities*
How parenting students interact with systems and how systems interact with them may vary based on their intersectional identities. Although this framework focuses mostly on systems, we wanted to acknowledge that policy systems do not work the same for everyone and that many systems maintain structural barriers rooted in ideologies of exclusion such as racism, classism, sexism, xenophobia, and ableism.

Personal (I am)
Group (we are)
Experiential (this happened)