Child Care Facilities Child care facilities have limited visibility in the planning for campus capital needs. Because the facilities are small, they rarely require University oversight or approval and remain the responsibility of campus administration. Campuses with strong advocacy from chancellors, central administrators, and faculty members who are aware of the need for child care as a faculty recruitment and retention issue, have had more success in building facilities for child care. Child care facilities lack parity among and even within campuses.
Planning is ad hoc with no overall strategic approach.
Establishing a convincing programmatic need is the first step to improving and planning for new facilities. Options currently under consideration to handle enrollment growth, such as expanded summer programs, may alter the space needs and operation of existing facilities. The physical effects of accommodating enrollment growth will be assessed during the LRDP process. In order to be affordable, new child care facilities cannot be supported by user fees alone. Multiple sources should be considered to fund new child care facilities, preferably from sources that do not rely on user fees for debt repayment.