Columbia College

CARE Program

Student Information

Welcome to CARE! CARE is a program that serves EOPS students who are single parents of young children and are receiving TANF county cash aid.The purpose of CARE is to give its students supplemental support “over and above” other services such as EOPS, Financial Aid, or CalWORKs. This support is to help CARE students achieve their academic and career goals so that they may become economically self-sufficient. CARE services are dependent upon the number of CARE students and their needs. Services are also dependent upon state regulations and the budget.

CARE Staff

  • CARE Coordinator / Counselor: Matt Fox
  • CARE Program Technician:Michelle Walker

CARE Program Phone Numbers

  • Office Phone Number: (209) 588-5130
  • Office Fax Number: (209) 588-5058
  • Matt Fox (209) 588-5110
  • Michelle Walker: (209) 588-5057

Eligibility for BeginningCARE

  • Must be enrolled in the EOPS program.
  • Must have registered for 12 units. This is arequirement only for new CARE student.
  • Must be a single parent and head-of-household.
  • Must have a child under the age of 14.
  • Must be receiving county cash aid for self & / or at least one child.

Eligibility for Continuing CARE

  • Must be enrolled in the EOPS program.
  • Must have submitted a new CARE application.
  • Must be a single parent, head-of-household.
  • Must be receiving county cash aid for self & / or at least one child.
  • Must have attended two Student Success Workshops in the previous semester.

CARE Student Responsibilities

  • Mustmeet EOPS responsibilities.
  • Complete the three required EOPS counseling contacts within the timeframe.
  • Maintain a satisfactory term unit completion rate and term GPA.
  • Must attend two Student Success Workshops each semester.
  • Must notify CARE if any other supportive services are being received. (ex: CalWORKs)

CAREProcedures

Each semester the CARE student:

  • Must submit a CARE application to the CARE staff.
  • Mustsubmit a CARE Verification of Eligibility formto the CARE staff. Staff will contact the Department of Social Services to verify CARE eligibility information.
  • Must schedule an appointment for CARE Orientation / Intake if the CARE staff has notified the student of CARE eligibility.
  • New and continuing CARE students must participate in this activity.
  • CARE students will sign a CARE contract.
  • Initial CARE services will be provided at this meeting.
  • Must complete all EOPS responsibilities.

CARE Services

  • Required Textbooks

CARE will cover up to $200 for the cost of required textbooks if this cost has not beencovered by another agency such as CalWORKs. Since CARE students are also EOPS students, EOPS pays for the first $300 and CARE pays the balance up to $200.

  • Use yourEOPS book voucher in the college bookstore first.
  • Determine the balance needed to purchase all of your books, including tax.
  • Bring this balance to CARE Program Technicianin the Special Programs office. She will issue you a CARE book voucher for this exact amount of the balance or up to $200.
  • Take the CARE voucher to the college bookstore to complete your transaction.
  • Child Care Cost Reimbursement
  • CARE helps to pay for the cost of child care on a reimbursement basis only.
  • CARE reimburses the student directly, not the child care provider.
  • CARE reimburses the cost of child care for the time the student is in class and for the time the student uses for study.
  • The times of child care service are verified by the child care provider on the CARE Child Care Time Sheet Reimbursement Form.
  • CARE reimburses the cost of child care for study time up to 10 hours perweek.
  • CARE paysup to $250 per child each month(fall and spring semesters only) to reimburse the cost of child care.
  • Submit all claimable (class and study time) hours on the CARE Time Sheet for Child Care Reimbursement. If there are funds available at the end of the academic year, CARE may be able to augment the reimbursement.
  • Do keep in mind that CARE has limited funds and may not be able to fully cover the student’s total child care costs.
  • State regulations require that the cost for child care services must first be picked up by other programs or agencies. An example: CalWORKs pays first and CARE pays last.
  • It is strictly prohibited to submit fraudulent claims for CARE child care cost reimbursement, and actions will be taken.
  • The student will be immediately removed from EOPS and CARE. No future services will be provided.
  • The student will be referred to the Dean of Student Services for possible further disciplinary action.
  • The CARE student will be responsible for reimbursing any costsincurred by the program as a result of the fraudulent action.
  • Examples of fraud are:
  • “Duplication of services” - submitting a claim for hours already covered by another agency.
  • Claiming reimbursement for hours not used forclass time or study time.
  • Falsifying information or signatures on the Reimbursement Form.

Filling Out the CARE Time Sheet for Child Care Reimbursement

  • Fill out a separate time sheet for each child.
  • Fill out a separate time sheet for each child care provider (if you are using more than one.)
  • Submit only the hours you are paying for child care while you are in class orstudying.
  • Only submit hours not covered by another agency. No duplicated services!
  • Separate the class hours from the study hours.
  • Put down all class and study hours in which child care costs were incurred. The form has space to sign in and out twice during the day to show separate child care times.
  • Provide your own signature each day as an indication that all information is correct. Make sure that the child care provider signs at the bottom of the page. This indicates that the provider attests to providing this service.

Submitting / Processing Your Child Care Reimbursement Form

  • Review your time sheets for accuracy and completeness.
  • Submit your child care time sheets to CARE Program Technician in the Special Programs Office each month.
  • Time sheets are due on the 3rd of the month following the month for which you are claiming the child care expenses.
  • Late or incorrect submissions may result in a delay in receiving the reimbursement payment.
  • Make sure that CARE has your correct mailing information.
  • Your reimbursement check should be mailed to you within the month.
  • Meal Vouchers

CARE will provide its students with CARE Meal Vouchers for completing certain EOPS and CARE activities. The meal vouchers are worth $28.00 each. The intent is to provide CARE students with healthy meals while attending college. It is suggested that the student budget approximately $7.00 for each meal. That will provide four healthy college meals per week.

CARE students can earn up to 5 meal vouchers per semester. A voucher may be earned by:

  • Attend Orientation (1)
  • Attending the first required EOPS counselor contact: Educational Plan. (2)
  • Attending the second required EOPS counselor contact: Mid-semester Progress Evaluation. (3)
  • Attending the third required EOPS counselor contact: End-of-Term (no voucher)
  • Participating in a Student Success Workshop.
  • CARE students are encouraged to attend as many workshops as possible, but the meal vouchers will be issued for up to four workshops. (4) (5)

The procedure for the CARE Meal Vouchers is the following:

  • The CARE student participates in an approved activity. (See above.)
  • The CARE student submits evidence of participating in the activity to the CARE Program Technician.
  • The Program Technician gives the student a Columbia College Convenience Card and a Meal Voucher.
  • The student goes to the college bookstore and the staff loads the amount of the voucher onto the CC Convenience Card.
  • The card is then ready to use at the Columbia College Snack Bar.
  • When a further activity is completed, the student goes to CARE Program Technicianfor another meal voucher and takes the voucher to the bookstore. The bookstore loads it on to the CC Convenience Card that was originally issued.

Note: The student is responsible for not losing the Convenience Card. Once the amount is loaded onto the card, it is considered like money and cannot be reimbursed.

Note: The Convenience Card cannot be used in the Cellar, the college restaurant.

  • Gas Cards & Bus Tickets

For students who use their car as transportation to attend college, a gas card will be issued upon successful completion of the Orientation, Educational Plan and Mid-semester contact. If the bus is used, bus tickets additional to EOPS bus tickets will be issued if needed. The CARE student must choose either gas cards or bus tickets, not both.

NOTE – students already receiving mileage/travel reimbursements from other services are not eligible for the gas cards and bus tickets.

  • Academic Incentive Grants

If funds allow, CARE students who have achieved a term GPA of 2.0 or higher are given a CARE grant if Financial Aid determines that there is “unmet financial need” and the student has met CARE responsibilities. The amounts differ depending upon the category of term GPA. The amounts of the grant will vary depending upon funds available. (CARE Grants for Fall 2012 were suspended due to the unusually high expenditures for child care and textbooks.)

  • Additional Academic Materials

As funds allow, CARE may be able to provide additional educational materials to its students as support for academic success.

Further Information about CARE

If you have any further questions regarding the CARE program, please contact our CARE Officeat (209) 588-5130 or visit our website:

We are here to help you to be successful!