Students will vote this spring on increase in child care fee

March 31, 1997

By Jim Burns

For seven days each spring, child care professionals from around the United States organize activities to coincide with the Week of the Young Child. Established in 1971, the week is intended to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families.

At UCSC, this year's celebration (April 13-19) holds special significance for two reasons: The Children's Center on campus is marking its 20th anniversary, and child care advocates are preparing to ask voters in the April 30-May 2 student elections to support an increase in the campus's Child Care Program Fee.

"This is an important time in the development of child care programs at UCSC," says Lise Bixler, director of Child Care Services on campus. "We are proud of the service the Children's Center has provided for the past two decades. But, at our current funding level and in our current facilities, the campus is severely limited in the child care it can offer students, faculty, and staff. Without child care, many groups of students are prohibited from attending school, conducting research, and making progress toward their career and academic goals."

During the spring elections, undergraduates and graduate students will be asked whether they support adding $5 to the current $3-per-quarter fee.

The center, located in Family Student Housing (FSH), has two programs: the Infant/Toddler Program, serving children 3 to 36 months in age, and the Child Development Program, for children 2.5 to 6 years in age. A third program is operated by a vendor in the Granary building at the base of campus; it is licensed for 45 preschool children and serves faculty, staff, and students. The Child Care Program Fee is used to support child care for students only and augments other funding sources (state Department of Education, registration fees, and user fees) that support all three child care programs.

According to Bixler, the Infant/Toddler Program has a current enrollment of 8 (6.5 children of students and 1.5 children of faculty/staff), and the Child Development Program has an enrollment of 31 children of students. Both programs have long waiting lists.

The request for an increase in support from students offers only a partial solution to the campus's child care needs, Bixler says. The campus has also prepared a Project Planning Guide for the construction of a new 7,900-square-foot facility, she says.

While there is no specific timetable for construction, Bixler hopes the planned facility will be ready to occupy within five years. Funding for the new building will come primarily from donors, she adds. If constructed, the new facility would replace the current child care space in FSH.

During the Week of the Young Child, Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood and vice chancellor for Student Affairs Francisco Hernandez will participate in the annual "Chancellor Comes to Lunch Day." The lunch will take place at the center on Thursday, April 17. "Instead of milk and cookies, the children will share a cake to mark the 20th birthday of the Children's Center," Bixler says.

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