This post was updated March 30 at 9:46 p.m.
Editor’s note: This article contains mentions of child abuse that may be disturbing to some readers.
UCLA will close one of its two on-campus child care centers Sept. 1.
Children attending the Fernald Center – a UCLA Early Care and Education center that hosts infants through preschool-aged children and is located northwest of the Charles E. Young Research Library – will transition to the Krieger Center starting Sept. 8, according to an email provided to the Daily Bruin by Dr. Yalda Afshar, an associate professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine.
The Bruin could not confirm the authenticity of the email, which Afshar said was sent Thursday and was addressed to “Fernald Families” and signed by Georgia Ann Lazo, the associate dean of University Partnership Schools, and Tina Christie, the dean of the School of Education and Information Studies. The two cited “enrollment considerations” and “budgetary factors” as being the reasons behind the decision.
Staff from the Fernald Center will be moved to classrooms at the Krieger Center and the University Village ECE Center, a UCLA ECE spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
“For several years, discussions have occurred regarding providing a more focused administration of campus ECE childcare and K-12 educational activities,” the spokesperson said in the statement. “The decision to consolidate ECE operations from three to two sites was made with significant consideration for our ECE community.”
The center’s enrollees are primarily the children of university faculty and staff, according to the UCLA Early Care and Education website.
Ester Delgado, a teacher at the Fernald Center, alleged that three employees at the Krieger Center have been dismissed in 2025 over child abuse.
“We don’t want to go there and have that kind of reputation,” she said.
The three employees are no longer employed by ECE, the spokesperson said in the statement, adding that they cannot further comment on personnel matters.
Christopher Rodriguez, a former employee of the Krieger Center, was arrested in February 2024 on misdemeanor charges and faced prosecution for charges including sexual battery and willful cruelty to a child. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Liliana Gonzalez declared a mistrial in the case after the jury hung on 11 misdemeanor counts.
The Fernald Center is one of three ECE centers operated by UCLA, along with the Krieger Center and the University Village ECE Center – which is located off-campus. The Fernald Center is the only child care center on the UCLA campus that is currently accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Delgado, a teacher in the Fernald Center’s infant room, added that ECE leadership only informed employees about the center’s closure after rumors had begun to circulate.
“We started hearing about it through the grapevine,” she said. “It was really sad and very disrespectful.”
Afshar, whose children attend the Fernald Center, said the center has been a “safe haven” for her and her children.
“Fernald is home,” she said.
Afshar added that she feels there has been a lack of transparency from ECE administration and said parents only received the email after asking Lazo and Christie about rumors that the center would be shut down.
In an email she sent to members of the UCLA administration and provided to The Bruin, Afshar said the Krieger Center “has faced serious challenges, including the dismissal of staff due to allegations of physical abuse.”
“Closing Fernald will not address the problems at Krieger,” she said in the email.
However, Afshar declined to comment in an interview on her concerns about the Krieger Center.
Contributing reports by Dylan Winward, News editor.
