Student parents get state funding

A $1.1 million Department of Education grant has been awarded to
UCLA’s Early Care and Education program, doubling the number
of students who will be able to receive child care assistance
through the university.

Child care services for students are available through UCLA
Early Care and Education, which operates an accredited child care
center, preschool and kindergarten program at University Village in
the University Apartments South, where many student families are
housed.

Low-income students, who are given priority among families
trying to place their children in Early Care and Education
programs, may be eligible for full or partial subsidy grants from
the state Department of Education’s Child Development
Division, or through endowed scholarships from the university,
according to the Early Care and Education Web site.

In total, the Early Care and Education’s on- and
off-campus facilities are licensed to provide care and schooling
for 257 children in their current capacity, with expansion plans
underway. At the University Village center, 115 spaces are
available for children of students.

Any institution of higher education serving a population of
low-income students, as determined by the monetary amount of
federal Pell Grants received by its students, may apply for child
care access grants through the Department of Education.

“UCLA has one of the largest Pell-eligible student
populations of any of the large research universities,” said
Gay Macdonald, executive director of Early Care and Education,
which helped the university acquire such a large grant.

According to the Department of Education, over $16 million was
awarded to more than 300 colleges in the 2004 fiscal year,
including 45 California schools.

The grant funds, to be awarded to the Early Care and Education
over the next four years, will primarily go toward increasing the
amount of childcare tuition assistance for students with dependent
children, and also help to provide additional support services to
student families.

“Child care is a kind of two-for-one bargain, I think,
because not only do the student parents have a better chance of
succeeding or excelling in their academic programs, but their
children will also have an advanced chance of succeeding once they
get to school,” Macdonald said.

Currently, the Department of Education provides tuition grants
for about 50 children, and funds raised by the center allow them to
provide child care tuition scholarships to 15 to 20 children every
year. Actual numbers vary from year to year because costs differ
slightly based on the ages of the children receiving the funds.

The grant funds will allow the center to double the number of
scholarships it can award, but not to increase the number of
children Early Care and Education can accommodate.

Though Early Care and Education receives about twice as many
applicants as they have spaces for, it is unclear how many students
with dependent children need child care.

University Apartments South has 1,164 family housing units
occupied by married couples with and without children, single
parents, and same-sex domestic partners. All but 60 units are part
of University Village, where child care is located.

Information was not readily available as to how many of these
families have children under the age of six, said Raymond Garcen,
area director for University Apartments South.

Early Care and Education estimates that roughly 300 UCLA
students have dependent children who may be eligible for care
through their programs.

But by any measure, the number of child care spots available to
UCLA students is smaller than the number needed to meet
students’ full demand.

Access to child care, especially for infants and toddlers, is a
problem for students and non-students alike. Low-income students
have extra difficulty accessing child care, and early childhood
education programs of high quality, Macdonald said.

In Los Angeles County, there are approximately 20 applicants for
each available space for accredited infant and toddler care, she
said.

The grant will also allow Early Care and Education to hire a
family services coordinator to provide advice and support services
for UCLA families.

“A family service coordinator would be able to meet with
families, understand what their needs are, and help them”
gain access to services they may benefit from, Macdonald said.

The provision of high-quality, affordable child care is
“critical to help (parents) succeed and do well, and come out
of here with the thing we want them to have most ““ their
degree,” she said.

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