ASUA approves $1,500 for child care program

But about 7 to 10 percent of UA students must also juggle the responsibility of being a full-time parent, and most are in desperate need of affordable child care.

"Parents need assistance of some kind, and with the new welfare bill, there aren't many options," said Mimi Gray, coordinator for the 1-year-old UA Child Care Initiatives.

Gray said she hopes to change that situation and is getting help from the Graduate and Professional Student Council as well as the Associated Students.

GPSC President Kathleen Fernicola said her organization gave $3,000 to the sick child program from last year's budget. Fernicola said she would like to give more this year, but the decision is still pending.

"Child care is something a lot of graduate students deal with on a daily basis," Fernicola said. "I think that whenever GPSC can give back to graduate students from their fees, it should be done."

Last night, Associated Students approved $1,500 for the program and ASUA President Gilbert Davidson contributed an additional $1,000 from his own operations budget.

"We need to be concerned with child care because ASUA is here for the benefit of all students," he said.

The money would help fund two Child Care Initiatives programs:

a child care subsidy program and

a sick child program.

The subsidy program will help pay for licensed child care based on unmet need, absorbing 30 to 50 percent of the cost.

Students must have a financial aid application on file for the current year to qualify.

Priority is given to full-time students, and the amount of assistance is based on contributions from grants, scholarships, financial aid allowance and family members.

Last year, 67 students applied for a portion of the program's $5,000 budget, with only nine students receiving assistance, Gray said.

"The importance of last year was to figure out how to run the program," she said.

Gray worked with a similar program about three years ago at Portland Community College where the program had a $100,000 operations budget.

The sick child program provides home care when a student's child is too sick to attend their regular day care center.

The program will pay $13 per hour and parents will add a $1 for service from the Tucson Association for Child Care.

Gray said five students from last year have been guaranteed aid for this year, but 63 applications have been received since school started two weeks ago.

"I'm more cautious in the beginning of the year because I want to make sure the people we've promised have enough for the year," Gray said.

But she said unused funds are sometimes available near the end of the semester.

Gray said she is also working with the College of Agriculture to raise funds for a campus child care facility.

In addition, the Department of Family and Consumer Resources is looking for funds to build a central home for the Institute for Children Youth and Families and a Child Development Center, Gray said.

In July, the Arizona Board of Regents granted initial approval for the facility.

"So far, the administration seems supportive," she said.

Mari Wilhelm, interim director of the institute said, "It's reasonable to say that it (this building) will happen in the future. It won't take care of all needs, but every other school in the Pac-10 has a child care facility on campus."