Millions of parents enroll in higher education to pursue an economically secure future for their families. When student parents graduate, they reap economic benefits for their families and for society alike. But many student parents struggle financially while in school, putting their graduation—and those economic gains—at risk.
In this brief, we use novel, nationally representative data to investigate patterns of employment and use of public programs to shed light on how parenting students support themselves and their families while in school. We find that many student parents struggle financially on their path to graduation and its promised economic security, despite working—largely full-time. We also find that many student parents use public human service and workforce programs. The most commonly utilized supports include free or reduced-price school lunch for students’ children, Medicaid for health care needs, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for working parents, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Student parents’ utilization of programs varies by their work and marital status.
We conclude with policy and practice recommendations for higher education and public program administrators, and for policymakers to improve parenting students’ experiences with public programs.
State-by-state data tables are available in a separate appendix.
This is the third in a series of three briefs available on the resource page Meeting Student Parents' Basic Needs.