basic needs supports for parenting students

march 2024
student with a baby

guidance for educators

more than one-quarter of college students who are parenting while attending school experience food insecurity and/or homelessness. these problems threaten the health and well-being of their families while also diminishing their odds of finishing college.

parenting students can thrive when they have well-designed support programs to help them afford food and housing—saving money for child care, transportation, and many other expenses. this brief provides ten recommendations for how to provide those supports along with key statistics useful for advocating for systems change to scale that assistance.


download brief