Student Advocacy

ACC’s Student Advocacy Center provides case management, financial assistance, and community referrals for students to remove barriers to success and help students complete their education. Need help or have questions about the program please email [email protected] or submit a request here https://austincc.my.site.com/StudentCareCenter/s.

Upcoming Events

Stay tuned for upcoming events.

Services & Assistance

Child Care Scholarship

The child care scholarship is a semesterly, financial assistance and case management program that allows ACC to assist with a student’s monthly child care costs. The student can use the child care provider of their choice and if eligible, ACC pays the child care provider directly each month through invoicing to assist with child care costs.

All Childcare Scholarships require a commitment from the student to engage in case management with their Student Advocate. This case management includes semester goal setting and regularly scheduled meetings throughout the semester.

Are you eligible?

Childcare Scholarships supports students from economically disadvantaged households, here are some basic guidelines for eligiblity:

You have applied for financial aid, by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or Texas Application for State Financial Aid (TASFA) and through the Department of Education process it has been determined that your Student Aid Index (SAI) is less than 1500.
Alternate Income Verification can be done using the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG). Students who make 200% or less of the current year’s FPG are eligible for the Student Advocacy Center.

All students who apply for a Childcare Scholarship are required to apply for Texas Workforce Solutions Child Care Services (CCS) in the area they live.

If awarded Texas Workforce Solutions Child Care Services (CCS) benefits, students are required to accept and move to CCS for childcare assistance.

Childcare Scholarship Awards are available for children under the age of 12.

Upon graduation, you must reapply to be considered for a new Childcare Scholarship Award.

Textbook Loan Program

The Student Advocacy Center maintains a collection of textbooks for students to borrow and gives priority to students receiving assistance. Other students may request a loan after the first week of classes. See information and a list of textbooks.

Need to see if you are eligible for access to the Textbook Collection during the first week of school, please submit an inquiry here.

Foster Care Alumni

Any student that has aged out of foster care or is adopted from the Texas foster care system can receive case management, academic advising, guidance, and be connected to local and national, supporting organizations through the Student Advocacy Center.

Community Resources for Housing or Other Basic Need Support

Many community services offer help with childcare, employment, food, healthcare or housing. You can submit a request here, if you need support from a Student Advocate in finding community or campus resources. This list of related community resources is also available if you want to search on your own. These links are for your convenience only; ACC is not responsible for the information on these websites. Remember to research facts or claims about services offered.

Food Access

A Student Advocate can meet with any currently enrolled student to offer support in finding food access solutions that include assistance with locating community or campus resources that would fit the student’s needs or in completing the Texas Health and Human Services application to access SNAP, WIC, or Medicaid. Submit a request for support here

For those students at Highland Campus, please visit the Student Care Center in building 1000, more information available her, https://students.austincc.edu/student-care-center/

Events

Stay tuned for upcoming events.

How to Request Services & Assistance

When to submit a request

Requests are reviewed on-going throughout the academic calendar year. Once reviewed a Student Advocacy Center staff member will reach out to set up an initial meeting or provide first steps in addressing your need.

It is important to note that you must be registered for the current or upcoming semester in order to submit a request.

Listed below are possible outcomes that we can help students achieve:

Childcare Scholarship-> Help in navigating college and community childcare assistance options including the Student Advocacy scholarship, ACC Children’s Lab School and other community childcare resources.

Housing Assistance -> Support in navigating community temporary housing options, assistance with affordable housing search and referrals to eviction assistance.

Textbook Assistance -> Help with the Textbook Lending Library

Community Resources & Student Emergency Fund Support -> Support in connecting to college and community resources for basic needs including food, transportation, healthcare and other emergency financial needs.

State Benefit Applications (MAP, Medicaid, SNAP, etc) -> Assistance with the Your Texas Benefits application to access state benefits for food and healthcare.

Parenting Liaison Support -> Support for Parenting students who need additional help or referrals for academic concerns, health coverage, housing and food benefits, and childcare resources.

Foster Care Liaison Support-> Support for students with experience in foster care who need additional help in understanding federal and state benefits and/ or referrals to ACC and community resources

Follow these steps:

Step 1

Submit a Request

Step 2

Check ACCmail regularly for notices of current or upcoming awards.

Step 3

Follow email next steps or instructions

For questions about eligibility or services, please complete https://austincc.my.site.com/StudentCareCenter/s.

Faculty and Staff: If you would like an Advocate to reach out to a student about services, please complete this referral form.