Spring Break
A.S. Child Care Center finds funding to continue serving families
Samantha Rivera
Issue date: 11/4/09 Section: News
Care remains the same as funding changes at the A.S. Child Care Center.
Senior nursing major Mylah Viray has been bringing her 3-year-old son to the A.S. Child Care Center since he was a one-and-a-half year old.
As of this year, she can no longer bring him on Fridays.
"I don't know if budget's part of it, but because government pays for it (the center) all, I'm not allowed to bring him in on Fridays, so now it's just Monday through Thursday," Viray said. "My husband doesn't work, and I work very little so we're subsidized. But, care is still the same. We still get everything."
Frances Roth, director of the A.S. Child Care Center, said about 56 percent of the low-income families at the center are subsidized by the California Department of Education as of this semester.
As of this year, two families have dropped Fridays from their child care schedule because of furlough days, Roth said.
A furlough day is a required day off without pay, according to the SJSU furlough Web site.
Roth said SJSU used to help fund the center, but as of late last year, representatives from SJSU's division of student affairs let the center know that it would cease funding, causing a $30,000 a year decrease in funds.
Now, the center has to depend on the California Department of Education, which provides $300,000 a year for the subsidized families who pay between nothing and $20 per day, depending on criteria based on monthly income and family size.
Other funding sources include Associated Students, whose tuition fees help fund the center and federal grants that provide $205,000 a year and also help the low-income families, Roth said.
"It used to be that about only 50 percent of families were subsidized, but the number increased, because some lost their jobs," she said. "So, our income is less, because the government does not support the cost to care for a child."
Three hours of care are provided per unit for students' children, whose ages range from 6 months to 6 years old, during the hours of 7:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the center, Roth said.
Senior nursing major Mylah Viray has been bringing her 3-year-old son to the A.S. Child Care Center since he was a one-and-a-half year old.
As of this year, she can no longer bring him on Fridays.
"I don't know if budget's part of it, but because government pays for it (the center) all, I'm not allowed to bring him in on Fridays, so now it's just Monday through Thursday," Viray said. "My husband doesn't work, and I work very little so we're subsidized. But, care is still the same. We still get everything."
Frances Roth, director of the A.S. Child Care Center, said about 56 percent of the low-income families at the center are subsidized by the California Department of Education as of this semester.
As of this year, two families have dropped Fridays from their child care schedule because of furlough days, Roth said.
A furlough day is a required day off without pay, according to the SJSU furlough Web site.
Roth said SJSU used to help fund the center, but as of late last year, representatives from SJSU's division of student affairs let the center know that it would cease funding, causing a $30,000 a year decrease in funds.
Now, the center has to depend on the California Department of Education, which provides $300,000 a year for the subsidized families who pay between nothing and $20 per day, depending on criteria based on monthly income and family size.
Other funding sources include Associated Students, whose tuition fees help fund the center and federal grants that provide $205,000 a year and also help the low-income families, Roth said.
"It used to be that about only 50 percent of families were subsidized, but the number increased, because some lost their jobs," she said. "So, our income is less, because the government does not support the cost to care for a child."
Three hours of care are provided per unit for students' children, whose ages range from 6 months to 6 years old, during the hours of 7:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the center, Roth said.
Be the first to comment on this story