By
Michelle McCollum
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Any UA student may use stipend program, coordinators say
UA Life & Work Connections has decided to continue its Child Care Subsidy Program after the conclusion of the program's successful first year as part of student financial aid packages.
This academic year, the Child Care Subsidy Program gave a stipend of $500 per child, per semester, to any undergraduate, graduate or professional student-parent who qualified for the program.
Program coordinator Caryn Jung said that the money was given to eligible students for each semester in order for the students to send their children to child care organizations that were licensed with the Department of Economic Security. The students chose their own organizations, she added.
Although the Child Care Subsidy Program began in the mid-'90s, Jung said, UA Life & Work Connections decided in 1999 to change the format from a reimbursement system to a grant.
"Before (the grant) they had us bring in receipts every month," said Kelly Jo, a second-year law student who was using the subsidy before it became a part of the financial aid package. "And then they would reimburse us 30 percent of what we paid."
Jo added that after the program began giving grants, the University of Arizona began paying for more of her two children's day-care fees than it did using the old system of reimbursement.
It was also easier for the students to receive the money up front. John Nametz, director of need-based aid in the Office of Financial Aid, said that way the students will be able to better assess their money situation.
"All we're trying to do is make students aware of all the sources of potential help so they can help themselves," Nametz said. "We want to give them the full picture."
But the subsidy program may do more for the university than just help parents cope with the financial strain of expensive day care.
It may, said Jung, attract more student-parents to the UA. Students who are also parents are a non-traditional class of students and are important in creating diversity among the student body, she said.
By offering financial stability to this minority, the university will have broadened its programs for the future, Jung added.
The Child Care Subsidy Program will continue in the 2001-2002 academic year with more than 50 participants. The amount of the award changes with every fiscal year as UA Life & Work Connections find organizations to fund the grants.
In past years the program has received donations from the Office of Financial Aid, the Associated Students and many off-campus organizations.
In order to qualify for the grant, a student must complete a 2001 federal financial-aid application, have confirmed admission to the university and have an unmet monetary need. Preference is given to those with more unmet need, such as freshmen and full-time students, Jung said.
"This is a long-term kind of assistance," Jung said. "These students are our future work force, and if we support them now, they will come back to support us later on."
