University Will Match Funds for Child Care

Although student leaders are responding enthusiastically to the administrators' decision, they say much still needs to be done to alleviate the dramatic child-care shortage student parents face.

The referendum's 75-cent per semester student fee increase would generate about $36,000 a year for child-care subsidies.

At a meeting last week, the UNC-CH budget committee approved a request from the Child Care Advisory Committee that pledged its financial support for the referendum. Provost Robert Shelton said the commitment to match the funds has been crucial to UNC-CH officials, even with the state facing dismal budget projections. "Even with all the budget uncertainty, we understood what a critical issue this was and wanted to make it a priority."

Shelton said the University's share of the money would either come from state funds or overhead funds.

Graduate and Professional Student Federation President Branson Page said he was delighted by the administration's support. "We always had strong support (from UNC-CH officials), but there was never a cut-and-dried answer," Page said. "I'm so proud of the administration for taking sides with student concerns."

Student Body President Jen Daum also expressed her enthusiasm for the administration's promise. "I'm absolutely thrilled the University is taking concrete steps toward improving the lives of student parents," Daum said.

Although the referendum, if approved by the BOT and BOG, could have a positive effect on the child-care shortage, some say UNC-CH students, about 2,000 to 2,500 of whom have children, still must grapple with insufficient child-care options. Advisory committee member Marc David said of the 186 child-care spaces UNC sponsors, only 20 are being filled by students' children.

David said all 20 children receive their care at the University Child Care Center, more commonly known as Victory Village. The center, which was opened jointly by the University and UNC Health Care Systems in 1998, accommodates children from infants to 5-year-olds.

But the cost of Victory Village -- between $725 and $1,050 a month per child -- deters most students from considering the facility, David said.

"Child care for an infant or toddler is right at $1,000 a month, and those kind of costs are prohibitive," he said. "For other students like myself who are going to school and teaching, Victory Village is simply not an option."

To accommodate the shortage, David said UNC-CH now offers $60,000 each year in child-care vouchers, $15,000 of which is available to students. He said those funds, which are distributed strictly on need-based standards, finance annual child care for only two to three families.

Orange County has the most expensive day care in the state, according to a report drafted by David.

David said the advisory committee recommended that the revenue generated from the student fee increase be allocated to vouchers that could be used at any child-care facility.

Despite the steps the University has taken to accommodate student needs, Page said the referendum is only the first step in addressing the child-care dilemma. "The referendum will help, but it won't do it all by any stretch of the imagination."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.