California State University, Fresno helps alleviate the financial hardships of students with dependents by providing subsidized services and also supplies for basic needs. As of 2019, the university provides free baby clothing and diapers to parenting students.

The initiative is one of a growing number of CSU institutions to address the insecurity of basic needs and foster a more welcoming environment for students with dependents.

What is needed: National estimates suggest that around one in five higher education students have a dependent under the age of 18 and CSU data found that in the spring of 2024 there were 9,600 students who reported having a dependent. Fresno State is home to about 1,300 students who have self-identified as parents, but staff estimates the number is higher.

Insecurity of basic needs is a growing threat to student retention, and students’ lack of awareness of resources further hinders institutional efforts to help them.

A September 2023 report from Trellis Strategies found that 63 percent of student parents who attend a school with at least one food pantry or closet were unaware of the service or incorrectly indicated that their institution did not have these services. Students with dependents were also more likely to use off-campus, community-based food pantries compared to their non-parent peers.

“Being a student parent doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to have basic needs (insecurity),” explains Carolyn O’Keefe, CSU’s director of student well-being and basic needs. “But we’re trying to be mindful of that and how these things intersect.”

How it works: Lil’ Bulldog Boutique it started as a pop-up closet in a student’s closet on campus, says Brittney Randolph, director Programs for children at Fresno State. In addition to overseeing the boutique, Randolph oversees the three early childhood education centers on campus.

More recently, Lil’ Bulldog Boutique moved into the Kremen Education Building, which also houses the Joyce M. Huggins Children’s Education Center.

Within the boutique, parenting students and graduates can shop for free clothing ranging in sizes from newborn to 11 years, as well as some potty training items. Most items are gently used, except for underwear and socks, which must be new, Randolph says.

Plus, parents can get free diapers every month through a diaper subscription program, Diapers for Diplomas. Students previously could purchase diapers from the student closet, but the program moved to the Student Health and Counseling Center, where students could request 100 diapers per month through a Google form, explains health educator Melissa Norris.

“Diapers can be expensive, you know, so having them out there and accessible to parenting students was really great,” says O’Keefe.

Within one to two business days, a staff member will complete the request and package it on a shelf for the student to pick up – similar to an online grocery order – labeled with the last name and last four student ID numbers. Each month, Diapers for Diplomas provides between 6,000 and 7,000 diapers to students.

Most students buy toddler clothes or larger diapers, which could be due to a variety of factors, staff say.

Norris theorizes that there’s a lag in when students become aware of support on campus, so once they’re enrolled in child care, they’re more likely to use the diaper program, for example. Parents may also be more supported with diapers and baby clothes before or soon after birth compared to when the baby is growing, Randolph says.

Overcoming obstacles: One of the challenges to sustaining basic needs programs for parenting students is finding funding. Both the diaper subscription and the clothing store have relied on outside donors and partnerships, including a four-year, $1.5 million Child Care Access Means Parents at School (CCAMPIS) grant.

“That grant just ended this year, so right now … we don’t have a source of funding and we haven’t tried to look for one,” says Randolph.

In the future, Norris wants to strengthen relationships with Title IX coordinators to ensure pregnant students know how to access services on campus to increase awareness.

Most students learn about the program by word of mouth, but since AB 2881, which established a number of supports for student parents, staff members have been able to provide more direct communication to student parents via email or an online hub. resources, says Norris. . “But we also haven’t widely promoted our diaper program, I think in part because we want to make sure we can keep up with all the requests that come in.”

Looking ahead: In July, the California State University system partnered with the Michaelson 20MM Foundation to launch the CSU Pregnant Student and Parent Initiative, which creates new university programs and services specifically for these learners. The initiative aims to expand and scale existing resources and share best practices between institutions.

A growing need for student parents is housing, O’Keefe says, and CSU currently has only two campuses with residential housing that can accommodate families. “Because our lounges are not designed for students with children, many of our campuses offer our students who have dependents lodging vouchers to stay in local hotels for that emergency stay.”

Norris contributed to the Student Parent Task Force, collaborating with other CSU institutions. “We all do a lot of sharing and checking in with each other … because a lot of us are in the same boat and we’re like, ‘OK.’ We know we need these things. How do we make that happen?'” she says. “But there is a need to continue much of this work together.”

Fresno State has also established an Academic Parent Task Force and an Academic Parent Advisory Team of students with dependents to guide work on campus.

“My hope is that the task force, along with our parent advisory team, can help identify really what those strategic priorities are that we want to start with now,” says Norris.

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