Faculty child care expands

By Linda Prendez, On-Line Forty-Niner

Tuesday, September 15, 1998

Competition for affordable and convenient child care is fierce in the working-parent world. Recently, the challenge may be less difficult for some Cal State Long Beach employees with the expansion of the Child and Family Center, which can now accommodate more children.

A survey indicated that on-campus child care was in high demand by faculty and staff, said Theresa Carusa-Ortega, assistant director of the center. Last semester the center, which has served three- to five-year-olds full-time since 1996, received a grant to expand its facilities located in the Family and Consumer Sciences Building.

Over the summer break the center added two new preschool classrooms and a playground. Each classroom can accommodate 12 children, with a child-caregiver ratio of 2 to 1, Carusa-Ortega said.

The center also serves as a student-teacher training opportunity for child development and family studies majors.

"It is going really well. We've had a great response," Carusa-Ortega said. "Parents are able to join their children for lunch at the center and can drop in any time they like."

The center is primarily for faculty and staff. Students and community members are welcome to apply, but have second priority for enrollment.

The center operates from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. A half-day toddler program for children 18 months to three years also operates through the Family and Consumer Sciences Department.