Parenting students make up a significant and growing proportion of college students. Balancing academics with parenting, dealing with financial constraints, and difficulty in securing support from educational institutions present challenging barriers to academic progress and degree attainment for parenting students. Moreover, college attainment for parents is an issue of equity, as parenting is more common among students who are women, Black, LatinX and American Indian.
UNITE-LA conducted a report, Empowering L.A. Parenting Students for College Success, complemented by existing data from the California Student Commission and the Los Angeles Community College District to better understand parenting college students and the supports and challenges they navigate in Los Angeles County institutions of higher education (IHEs). The report revealed that supports for parenting students across IHEs are uneven across institutions and suggested a paramount need for more funding in conjunction with enhanced collaboration and coordination across and within IHEs.
Our Early Childhood Development initiative -U.S. supported the research for UNITE-LA’s report as an integral approach to ensuring that younger parents are fulfilling their economic and educational promise.
