MICHAEL JENNINGS Samantha Gatmaitan
plays with her daughter Xochitl Baldivia-Gatmaitan
at the Bellagio Child Care Center. The UCOP announced recently that
matching funds will be provided for child care.
By Marjorie Hernandez
Daily Bruin Reporter
The UC Office of the President announced last Wednesday that it
will provide matching funds to address the growing need for child
care ““ a move that may lead to the building of a new facility
at UCLA.
UCOP is challenging each campus to raise anywhere from $1 to 2
million in campus funding that will be matched with $750,000 to
$1.25 million.
The funds are intended to support plans for expansion and
increase child care facilities, according to Director of Campus
Service Enterprises Brad Erickson. “High quality,
accessibility and affordable child care is a critical priority that
addresses the work and life needs of all members of the university
community,” UC President Richard Atkinson said in a
statement.
According to Executive Director of UCLA Child Care Services Gay
Macdonald, the matching funds will be a great help for students and
staff.
Although the child care facilities ““ Bellagio, Fernald and
University Village ““ are operating at full licensed capacity
with 240 children, there are still about 500 families waiting.
According to Erickson, the child care centers receive funds for
daily operation from parent fees, state and federal grants, donor
and campus funds ““ leaving little money for the development
of new facilities.
“The cost of providing quality child care exceeds the
ability of most families to pay for such a care,” Erickson
said. “I’m not aware of any public or private facility
that is not supported by services in addition to the fees parents
pay.”
With the promise of matched funds, Child Care Services and UCLA
Capital Programs planned a budget of $3 million to build and equip
a new facility that will serve approximately 100 more children.
The Chancellor’s and the Development Offices are currently
working to secure donor funding, Erickson said. “I’m
very pleased that the Office of the President has provided the
matching funds.”
“My hope is that the campus will be able to identify a
donor or donors to help us construct the badly needed new
facility,” Erickson added.
The issue of providing affordable and quality child care
services throughout UC campuses has been pressing.
According to the most recent report released by the Child Care
Task Force, the university will need to recruit 7,000 professors by
the year 2010 in order to replace retiring faculty and accommodate
the influx of students over the next decade. The majority of
incoming faculty members will consist of young families, making the
availability of child care services an important factor in
maintaining UCLA as a competitive employer, Erickson said.