M aryanne Gallagher, director of Child Care, has announced that the University will offer a flexible-schedule child care classroom as a pilot program starting at the end of January, 1999. The program will be located in 4 Skinner Hall for the spring 1999 semester, subject to approval by the appropriate licensing agencies. In the fall, the program will be moved to an alternative location and the space in Skinner Hall will be assigned to the School of Education for use by the Early Childhood Laboratory School. Faculty and staff will be eligible to enroll their children on a space-available basis.
Many details have to be tended to between now and the target opening date.
We'll do our best to get all the pieces in place in time, and I'm sure GEO and GSS will help in getting the word out to student families. Gallagher said a sliding fee scale, based on family size and household income, has been developed to help make the services available to all who need them. Because tuition fees for this program will be significantly subsidized, Gallagher said, graduate and undergraduate child care vouchers will not be able to be applied to the program. Applications for enrollment, as well as further information about the program, will be available by mid-December, according to Gallagher. Parents will have to submit applications to identify their spring semester part-day child care needs before the end of the semester.