The Hawkeye Responsive Child Care program will provide access to culturally sensitive child care options benefiting both HCC’s most vulnerable students who are also parents, and the students who provide child care services. By providing safe, free, and flexible child care that serves low-income women and girls of immigrant and refugee families, the program will improve retention and graduation rates for moms while they attend classes part-time and focus on their studies. In turn, experience serving families from different cultures will aid student employees in developing a global perspective and cultural sensitivities needed to serve Northeast Iowa’s increasingly diverse population.
Social Change: Providing safe, flexible child care at no cost to parents is expected to increase the number of students—especially low-income and/or minority mothers—who persist with their educational pursuits to gain the skills needed to enter high-demand jobs with life-sustaining wages.
