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Expansion to shorten wait for infant care
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“We’re really hoping that this is going to open up our wait list and give families a chance to get in when they want to—when their children are young.”
A renovation and expansion project under way at the UB Child Care Center will increase the facility’s overall capacity to 225 children, members of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee learned yesterday during an update on the project.
The child-care center’s building on the North Campus near Baird Point is being expanded to accommodate 135 children—up from the current maximum of 54, said Patricia Logan, director of the UB Child Care Center. The center’s South Campus location in Butler Annex A, originally intended to be a “temporary building,” will receive a complete renovation. The building, which is licensed for 90 children, will not increase in capacity.
“We’re really hoping that this is going to open up our wait list and give families a chance to get in when they want to—when their children are young,” said Logan. “Right now, we have a total of 24 infant slots; after the expansion, that’s going to double.”
Currently, the wait list for infant care can be as long as a year, she added, and slots for older children also are in demand. The center cares for children from ages six weeks to 5 years.
The construction on the North Campus site is set for completion this month and renovations at the South Campus will wrap up in February 2010, she said. The North Campus facility will not increase enrollment until March 2010, however—after the completion of both projects—because children from the South Campus site will be relocated to the site on North Campus, starting in May, while the renovations are being carried out.
“The North Campus site will have a whole infant wing—that’s four infant classrooms, an infant gym and a parent room for parents to visit with or feed their children,” said Donna Gierke, assistant director of the center. “Quality infant child care is really hard to find in the area,” she added.
The center, which originally opened on the South Campus in 1985 and built the North Campus facility in 1995, provides professional child care, including pre-school services, to the children of UB faculty, staff and students. A not-for-profit organization, Logan said the center is primarily supported by tuition dollars, plus some state support. Parents contribute from $200 per week for infant care to $185 per week for pre-kindergarten age children. Subsidies are available for low-income student families, she said, with some children receiving care for as little as $25 per week.
“UB’s fortunate to have an administration that supports child care for its workforce,” she added, noting that about two-thirds of the children in the center are those of faculty or staff, with the remaining one-third being the children of UB students.
Following the presentation, James Hassett, professor of surgery, School of Medicine and Biomedical Science, expressed concern that the expansion still won’t meet the needs of UB’s parent population, especially considering the university’s plans for further expansion. He also suggested that a third site be established on the Downtown Campus, citing the problems his medical residents experience finding quality child care.
Although the expansion is not large enough to meet the overall child-care demand on campus, Logan said it’s still a significant improvement. She also noted that the center is ultimately limited by how much space is provided by the university, noting state law requires a set amount of space per child.
Also looking to UB’s future, Gayle Brazeau, associate dean for academic affairs, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, pointed to a rising need for elder care facilities on campus since an aging population means more faculty and staff are caring for older parents, as well as children.
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