Added Care
$1.25M grant support more childcare options
Holyoke Community College has been awarded a federal grant worth nearly $1.25 million to expand services at its on-campus, Itsy Bitsy Child Watch program while also providing subsidies for student parents who might require additional off-campus childcare.
The four-year Child Care Access Means Parents in School grant totaling $1,247,520 comes from the U.S Department of Education, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
HCC will receive $311,880 per year for fiscal years 2027-2030. Out of that, $225,000 will be allocated to student parents through a new student childcare subsidy program. Grant funds will also be used to hire a part-time staff person to manage the subsidy program.
Itsy Bitsy Child Watch is available as a drop-in center for student parents while they are on the main HCC campus. The addition of the subsidy program will create additional on-campus childcare seats by freeing up more “as-needed” capacity at the Itsy Bitsy Child Watch center for students who need short-term care to attend classes, meet with professors, advisors, tutors or other similar academic activities. The subsidies will help address what is sometimes a long waitlist for Itsy Bitsy Child Watch services.
“Since it opened, Itsy Bitsy Child Watch has provided free, intermittent care for more than 225 HCC families,” said Itsy Bitsy Child Watch Director Emily Webber. “Now we will have the ability to connect students with community-based childcare that can support longer care needs. Itsy Bitsy is perfect for many parents who need childcare on campus while they are in class, but others need off-campus childcare for longer days, additional days per week, or at a location that is more convenient for their individual needs.”
Itsy Bitsy Child Watch opened as a pilot program in fall 2022 and moved to a larger space in 2025. A $245,000 grant awarded earlier this year from the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation allowed the child watch center to add staff and additional hours, including hours in the evening for students taking night classes.
According to the Department of Education, HCC was one of only three Massachusetts colleges or universities to receive this funding and one of only 40 nationwide out of 300 campuses that applied. The other Massachusetts schools to receive grants were Quinsigamond and Mount Wachusett community colleges.
“This will allow Itsy Bitsy to meet the needs of more students,” said Webber. “We’re thrilled to offer this opportunity to parents and see the impact it will have.”
Above: HCC student Marisol Puac Hernandez, far right, drops her six-month-old son Christopher off at the Itsy Bitsy Child Watch Center, where they are greeted by child watch staffers Emily Webber, left, and Lindsay Hernandez.
