Child and Family Center (CFC) Suspending Operations

For over 30 years, the Child and Family Center (CFC) has served as an experiential-learning site and laboratory school for Child Development students at the university. The CFC is a NAEYC-accredited program (National Association for the Education of Young Children) that provides care to 45 children on a daily basis. Just over half of the children served are those of university employees, with the other half being children of local community members. A separate campus facility operated by Associated Students offers child care services to student-parents.  

The 2019-20 state budget provided one-time funding to the CFC to renovate and expand its facilities to nearly double the current capacity. With this expansion, the CFC will be offering child care for the first time to student-parents. Upon completion of the project, new features will include three new classrooms, innovative reading nooks, enhanced natural light, renovation of existing classrooms, and an additional, newly designed Regio Emilia-inspired playground among existing pine trees. 

During the planning process for the project, the university sought to identify an alternative site for the CFC during construction. While the other on-campus child care center in the past was able to use an alternate site for three weeks due to an emergency facility issue, the same approach for over a year for the CFC was ultimately not possible due to a host of resulting licensing, accreditation, and program-quality issues, ranging from necessary child-sized restrooms to an appropriate outdoor play area.

Instead, the CFC will suspend operations from July 1, 2023 until the 2024-25 academic year. A specific reopening date is not yet known given potential construction delays, equipping the new and renovated space, and obtaining the necessary licensing approvals. Moving forward with the construction now is necessary to prevent the project from incurring additional inflationary costs.  

The university is working with families to provide information about other care centers, and several families have already secured alternate arrangements. Current families of the CFC will receive priority placement when the Center reopens.