Confusion surrounds Children’s Center summer services

Miscommunication leads to summer funding questions

Many Portland State student-parents take advantage of campus child care services, including the Children’s Center, located on the first floor of Smith Memorial Student Union. Funded by the Associated Students of Portland State University’s Student Fee Committee, the frequently used center is a valuable resource for student-parents, enabling them to leave their children in safe hands during class hours. However the center’s plans for the summer are unclear. Though still up the air, it was rumored that the PSU Helen Gordon Child Development Center would be using the center’s space for a summer program. Despite these rumors, there has been recent and strong indication that the Children’s Center will have its own summer program.

Miscommunication leads to summer funding questions

Many Portland State student-parents take advantage of campus child care services, including the Children’s Center, located on the first floor of Smith Memorial Student Union. Funded by the Associated Students of Portland State University’s Student Fee Committee, the frequently used center is a valuable resource for student-parents, enabling them to leave their children in safe hands during class hours. However the center’s plans for the summer are unclear. Though still up the air, it was rumored that the PSU Helen Gordon Child Development Center would be using the center’s space for a summer program. Despite these rumors, there has been recent and strong indication that the Children’s Center will have its own summer program.

Dojonique Grittman, a chemistry senior, works with her son, Adam, at the Children’s Center. Grittman organized the parent petition for summer childcare funding from ASPSU.
Corinna Scott / Vanguard Staff
Dojonique Grittman, a chemistry senior, works with her son, Adam, at the Children’s Center. Grittman organized the parent petition for summer childcare funding from ASPSU.

The issue of summer service hours was brought to the table during an SFC meeting in late February. Nick Rowe, former SFC liaison to the Children’s Center, was concerned about rumors that the center would not be open for the summer term. “We were concerned that in the beginning that they were going to close during the summer months. We feel that it would be important to provide these sorts of resources to student-parents,” Rowe said.

Unclear communication between the SFC and the Children’s Center led to concerns with regards to the center’s summer function. “When we got the budget request from the Children’s Center, we were under the impression that it was their final request,” Rowe said. However, the center’s budget proposal submission did not include adequate funding for a summer program, a move out of alignment with the SFC’s vision for the center. The committee allocates funds for the center and consequently has a substantial stake in it as well as general interest for it’s continued service to PSU families.

In the event that the center organizes a summer program, it will require additional meetings with SFC in order to accommodate for an increased budget. According to Ellie Justice, PSU director of Childcare Development and Family Services, she and Kim Allen, coordinator for the Children’s Center, would “schedule time with the SFC to review the budget impact, but this may not require additional SFC funds.”

According to Justice, the center’s plans fluctuated. “Earlier this year, the Children’s Center was not planning to have a summer program and Helen Gordon Child Development Center was looking for space for a school age summer program that we have offered in past years,” she said.

This judgment was based on a survey conducted by the Children’s Center earlier in the year. The survey was given to current student-parents utilizing the center, asking if they were planning to attend PSU summer classes. However, with summer around the corner, students’ plans have started to come together. The interest in services at the Children’s Center prompted it to reevaluate its decision. “It now looks like there’s a fair demand for summer care for their current families so they are planning to run a Monday through Thursday program for their community,” Justice said.

“The push for Helen Gordon running a program out of the Child Care Center was a very brief one,” Justice explained. “The Children’s Center is going to provide summer care.”

According to Kim Allen, the center will offer services from June 25 to Aug. 17.

The Children’s Center, according to the center’s page on PSU’s website, “was created as an alternative to full time care. The need for short hour care was in demand for students who were not enrolled full time and could not afford to pay for hours not needed.”

A report compiled in 2009 indicated that student-parents comprised 21 percent of the overall PSU student body, making access to viable child care services incredibly relevant. Since it first opened in 1999, the center has been providing child care services for PSU families.

The Helen Gordon Center plays a similar role, but it is also academic and research oriented. Not only operating as a child care center, Helen Gordon is a research facility, focusing on fields such as psychology and family studies. While the Children’s Center operates on a short period of time format, Helen Gordon offers longer care hours.

Demand for childcare at PSU is high, with Helen Gordon and the Children’s Center racking up a combined number of roughly 600 persons on their waiting lists for care.