Barriers Block Aid for Student Parents

Student parents who juggle classes, work and raising children often find themselves scraping by without much cushion for unexpected expenses. Some states, including California, offer financial aid specifically to student parents to help cover housing, childcare and other basic needs. But a new analysis from The California Alliance for Student Parent Success suggests administrative hurdles are preventing many eligible student parents from accessing that aid.

The analysis, co-led by California Competes and EdTrust-West, examined access to California’s Students with Dependent Children Award, which provides eligible Cal Grant recipients with up to $6,000 in additional aid to help cover expenses beyond tuition, including housing and childcare. It found that just 29 percent of student parents who applied for financial aid ultimately received the supplemental award.

The analysis points to administrative barriers—including challenges identifying student parents and a required certification process—as key reasons many eligible students do not receive the award.

“This is not unique to student parents at all. It’s across uptake for Cal Grant, Pell Grant, CalFresh, CalWORKs, you name it,” said Su Jin Jez, chief executive officer of California Competes. “But it’s particularly concerning for student parents because they’re not just supporting themselves, but also their dependents.”

“We know that student parents face greater rates of housing insecurity and food insecurity than non-parenting students, so this financial aid is so important for them,” she added.

Access barriers persist: The analysis traced where student parents fell out of the process to receive the supplemental financial aid. During the 2023–24 academic year, more than 131,000 undergraduates applied for financial aid and self-identified as parents. Of those, about 110,000 were offered a Cal Grant and invited to complete a required certification form.

The largest drop-off occurred during that step. Just over 40,000 student parents completed the form, and about 38,500 ultimately confirmed their eligibility and received the award—29 percent of all student parents who initially applied for financial aid.

Because the award helps cover nontuition expenses, Jez said missing out on the funding can affect nearly every aspect of a student parent’s daily life—from securing high-quality childcare and stable housing to paying for reliable internet access and nutritious food.

“It feels trite to say, but every dollar, every penny, really matters,” Jez said. “It’s both the actual monetary cost, but also the emotional and psychological stress of having to make these decisions around ‘Can I afford to do this thing for my child?’”

The analysis also found that 32 percent fewer awards reached student parents during the 2024–25 academic year than the previous year, after changes to the federal financial aid application made it harder to identify and invite eligible student parents. As a result, the analysis estimates that going forward, up to $300 million in award funding could go unclaimed each year because of challenges identifying student parents and streamlining access to the program.

“It underscores how student parents are still not seen as a typical student,” Jez said. “The fact that our FAFSA made this shift—this oversight, frankly—makes it pretty tough to identify student parents.”

A path forward: To improve access to the award, the analysis recommends making it easier for eligible student parents to complete the process. It suggests allowing students to submit the required certification form without waiting for an invitation, making information about the award easier to find, strengthening student parent data collection, enabling colleges to verify eligibility directly and integrating reminders throughout the financial aid process.

While broader federal financial aid issues are being addressed, Jez said California can still improve coordination across its own data systems.

“If we had better data infrastructure, we could streamline the ability to get people access to these benefits,” Jez said. “So if we know you’re a low-income student parent receiving CalWORKs, we could also automatically qualify you for the Cal Grant and this access award.”

Ultimately, Jez said implementing the analysis’s recommendations could do more than increase participation in the award program—it could also improve student outcomes, including persistence and degree completion.

“One of the reasons why students stop out of higher ed is the affordability issue,” Jez said. “Having more money can definitely smooth the path to address sort of the ‘When life throws something at you.’”

“It benefits both the persistence piece, but it would also make the initial sort of matriculation more likely,” she added.

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