LAURA GOSS/Emerald
Julian, 4, swings high uith the help of sophomore Ryann Cowley at the EMU Child Care Development Center.
Care: Program adapts to student schedules
■ Continued from Page 1A
explained Dennis Reynolds, Uni
versity child care coordinator. He
completed an undergraduate in
ternship at the center on Moss
Street in 1972 and never left.
“I had a friend who was work
ing here, and 1 thought it would be
an easy credit and would be fun,”
Reynolds said. "1 found it much
more meaningful than just fun. I
found the work I wanted to do.”
After 15 years as a classroom
teacher and 11 years as an admin
istrator for children’s programs, he
has seen the evolution of the Uni
versity’s system. One house for
temporary use was opened in June
1970 and has been used for the last
27 1/2 years, he said.
"At the time it was considered a
radical notion that there would be
child care on a University cam
pus,” Reynolds said. “The demo
graphics have changed, and it is
no longer seen as a radical issue
for students and employees. ”
In the '70s there was more feder
al money for students, but when
that money started drying up, the
student government filled the
gaps in terms of supporting child
care, said Reynolds.
Today, student incidental fees
help subsidize one-third of the op
erating expenses for the seven
child care and development pro
grams available to students, em
ployees and community families
that service approximately 260 to
350 children altogether.
“There’s definitely a higher level
of quality because it’s not for prof
it," Wasson explained. “It’s not just
day care but child development
centers that care about the kids. ”
There are several differences be
tween the University program and
independent day care providers,
Reynolds said. The University
day-care centers pay their employ
ees a higher salary than centers
with similar costs. This higher
salary ensures a lower turnover
rate among employees and more
quality staff workers.
The centers also offer a variety
of schedules for day care that
change each quarter when the stu
dent’s schedule changes. The cen
ters adapt their schedules to meet
LAURA GOSS/Emerald
Emma, 2, has her first "driving lesson” in the center’s outdoor play
area during a brief break from the rain on Tuesday.
student needs. For example, they
can change their schedule to ac
commodate student-parents dur
ing Finals Week, Reynolds said.
Wasson is a member of the Stu
dent Senate and her husband is ac
tive in the ASUO office. Her child
care is adaptable to her schedule.
“It’s easy, at any hour things
may come up. I’ll think I’ll be done
at a certain hour and I won’t be
able to make it,” says Wasson,
who can call the center and ask if
her child can stay longer. “It’s real
ly flexible with you. ”
Students buy blocks of time
when they have classes and can
save money by only scheduling
the care their child needs. The
centers’ main priorities are serving
students, and 65 to 70 percent of
the children in the program are
children of University students.
“Child care is a popular issue right
now,” said Cheryl Hunter, ASUO
executive coordinator. “Overall, so
ciety has had a mixed commitment
to it. We realize the importance of
child care, but we don’t fund it. ”
In addition to ASUO funding,
student government has made an
effort to help individual students
afford child care.
“We’ve tried different things
over the years, like changing the
level of eligibility for subsidies or
adjusting the number of families in
the subsidy program,” Hunter said.
Last year the ASUO accepted
210 subsidies, which amounted to
$212,000 set aside specifically for
student-parents who receive a per
centage of their day care funding
from the ASUO. Parents can use
the subsidy in any day care pro
gram they choose.
“The ASUO subsidy is key be
cause it pays for 55 percent of our
child care, which helps out so
much because child care is really
expensive,” said Wasson.
University day care can ease
confusion with bills. Wasson
knows if there are problems pay
ing that month’s complete cost,
the bill will be transferred over to
her Oregon Hall account.
President Clinton’s new child
care initiative will mostly target
moderate income families,
Reynolds explained.
"But hope is on the horizon in
terms of federal funding,” he said.
If passed by Congress, Clinton’s
plan would expand bloc grants
that states receive to subsidize
low-income family care. It would
also support child care providers’
educations, employer tax credits
for providing day care, and fund
ing to improve after school care.
Hunter believes Clinton’s plan
may have more of an impact on
the quality, and not necessarily
the cost, of child care.
Beyond funding the real need is
for students to get directly involved
with the children in their commu
nities, he said. Reynolds would like
to see more students involved with
the University day care and child
development centers.
“It is easy on campus to live in
an ivory tower and to forget that
not everybody in the world is be
tween 18 and 25 years of age,”
Reynolds said.
“We are so conditioned every
day to see certain kinds of people
on campus,” said Beth Daniels,
who has been working for the
child care centers for the past three
years. “The EMU program I work
with is an opportunity to let their
[children’s] presence be known."
Her work consists of making
snacks, setting up the touch tables
for children, using play dough and
facilitating exploration and play.
"For three hours I forget about
the paper 1 have to do tonight or
the test I have to study for tomor
row,” she said. “It allows me to
hold on to my inner child.”
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