Student parents still have to wait for childcare
David Quinley
Issue date: 4/30/01 Section: News
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COM President Jim Middleton said it would challenge how far they would go to subsidize childcare. The original cost estimate was based on teachers’ salaries of $9/hour. When daycare teachers joined UPM (United Professors of Marin), salaries were negotiated to $13-15/hour. Although he emphasized that the salary increases were appropriate as childcare workers are generally under-paid, Middleton said more funds were needed because state reimbursements were not increased. The toddler program also requires a greater teacher-to-child ratio than the existing program, further increasing expenses.
Margaret Elliott of the COM Foundation is seeking funds from local corporate foundations and organizations with Middleton and Pam Mize. They are seeking 3 years of funding from members of the Marin county community who wish to support childcare, according to Elliot. Kathleen Cochrane, COM director of childcare programs, and Mize are also looking into getting state and federal grants for teacher salaries.
According to Cochrane, the expansion started with the CalWORKS-TANS program for welfare parents that required colleges to train welfare recipients and provide childcare. A grant of $135,000 allowed COM to add a summer program, expand the childcare program for the other semesters and add a voucher program for off-campus childcare. COM was also given a CalWORKS one- time allowance of $80,000 for the toddler program, as well as $10,000 from the Quality Childcare initiative which was partially used to pay the architect. A grant of $16,000 from the state Dept. of Education is being used to upgrade fire alarms, erect barriers between the children's play area and the gate, and make classrooms wheelchair accessible.