Little Suncats: Financial Assistance for Child Care

Get Help With Child Care/After-School Expenses

The Little Suncats program is providing child care/after-school vouchers to our qualified student-parents. If you are looking for a childcare or after-school program close to school or home we can help you.

The Little Suncats program is a great opportunity to talk to other student-parents, connect with CNM and community resources and attend events that will focus on your family needs. We are here to help you achieve your goals!

About Little Suncats

In 2019, CNM was awarded the CCAMPIS (Child Care Access Means Parents in School) Federal Grant to support student-parents attending CNM who have child care/after-school expenses. The Little Suncats program is designed to connect student-parents with high-quality child care/after-school programming and support for child care/after-school costs.

Eligibility Requirements

Your eligibility for child care vouchers is determined by the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) provided on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and financial need.

To qualify, students must:

• Be Pell Grant eligible and have financial need
• Be the parent/legal guardian of the child/children enrolled
• Maintain a minimum course load of six credit hours for part-time or a minimum course load of 12 credit hours for full-time per term

Program Requirements

As a participant of the Little Suncats program you must comply with the following:

• Attend the Little Suncats student-parent orientation and complete the Participant Agreement.
• Maintain at least part-time enrollment status.
• Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress each term (66.67% completion rate and 2.00 GPA)
• Connect to student-parent resources
• Participate in any other activities recommended by the Little Suncats Program Manager. These activities include feedback about the Little Suncats program, workshops, or volunteering at your child’s school.

Program Benefits 

• Receive monthly help to pay for your child care/after-school costs.
• You will receive priority registration to CNM’s Summer Camps!
• Have access to cool parent resources.

How Funding Works

The Little Suncats program covers a percentage of your child care costs.

Note: It is the student-parent’s responsibility to cover the remaining child care/after-school balance not covered by the Little Suncats program. 

Child Care/After-School Provider Requirements

It is a requirement for our program that the provider must have a current New Mexico license and accreditation (or actively working towards accreditation). If you’re not sure if your provider meets these requirements, you can visit the CYFD website to see if they have a 3-5 star rating. Your provider must maintain this licensure/accreditation every year. A family member, neighbor, friend or babysitter will not meet these requirements.

Note: Submission of Little Suncats Application DOES NOT guarantee entry to the program. For continued eligibility, apply every year.