Bill calls for aid for student-parents

Lawmakers in Olympia are attempting to combat student-parent college dropout levels through legislation aimed at offsetting the outstripping demand and sky-high costs of childcare.

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[HTML_REMOVED]If passed, the new wording in HB 1856 will amend RCW 28B.135.010 and 28B.135.030 and repeal RCW 28B.135.020. [HTML_REMOVED]

"Two Washington accounts for student childcare in higher education are established. The Higher Education Coordinating Board and the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges shall administer the programs. Through these programs the boards shall award childcare grants to state institutions of higher education to be used exclusively for high quality, accessible and affordable childcare for the children of students at higher education institutions. The childcare grant for each institution shall be equal to the amount contributed by the student government association or its equivalent. Grant funds shall be expended only for the direct costs of providing childcare for the children of students."

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In Washington state, the scarcity of affordable childcare is a leading cause of student-parents dropping out of college.

If passed, the legislation sponsored by Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, and by Rep. Mary Helen Roberts, D-Edmonds, would use state funds to match money raised by public colleges and universities for childcare.

The problem is so bad at the UW that it can take up to three years on a waiting list to get a child enrolled in on-campus daycare.

"It's almost like you have to get on the waiting list before you're even pregnant," said Ashley Greene, a UW graduate student at The Evans School of Public Affairs.

A 1996 study found 10 percent of UW students were also parents, accounting for over 4,000 children.

Though Kim Friese, the Graduate and Professional Student Senate president, said the numbers have surely increased. The UW estimates that one percent of the student body's childcare needs are being met.

While still in the early stages of development, the legislation has bipartisan support in the house and senate.

"The positive response by the committees is a very good indicator of where [the bill] will go in the future," Roberts said. "I think I'll knock on wood."

ASUW student lobbyist Bryce McKibben was quick to point out that even if passed, the legislation only makes calls for funding. McKibben said funding would still need to be added to the state's budget before students saw any increases in aid.

Friese said the bills' timing is fortunate. As the result of a $1.4 billion budget surplus and recommendations by the governor's Washington Learns program, funding is increasing for graduate and professional education [HTML_REMOVED] the student demographic with the most student-parents.

At the UW, childcare assistance is given through voucher coupons, exclusively redeemable at state certified childcare facilities.

There are 135 people on voucher waiting lists; the waiting list for on-campus daycare is four times that.

Greene, the mother of a 2-year-old, said finding the information she needed to get vouchers was a frustrating task.

"Every time I went in [to the student life office] I was rebuffed," she said. "They were like 'Here's the notebook, you figure it out.' So they gave me this great big notebook and meanwhile I was standing in their office with this screaming child in my arms. There weren't even any childcare programs in that book with openings that I could afford."

UW doctoral candidate Opio Dupree had a similar experience. Prior to receiving vouchers, he said he couldn't afford childcare.

Dupree applied for vouchers twice before finally receiving them after two years on a waiting list. Before receiving vouchers, he supported his family of three on the $17,000 yearly salary he earned as a research assistant.

After paying the bills, he said the family was left with only $250 to cover other cost-of-living expenses.

"When you're trying to figure out how to pay rent or feed your family, it's difficult to prepare for exams," Dupree said. "No one should have to make the choice to better themselves through education or feed their family."

UW President Mark Emmert has said the University supports the idea of increasing funding for childcare assistance.

But Friese said childcare takes a backseat to increasing per-student funding levels and staff and faculty pay raises.

"If we as students are paying most of the bills, then we should have a better way of accessing childcare that's affordable," Friese said.

Tuition is the largest source of revenue at the UW.

"The administration generally agrees that childcare access is a big problem, but different administrators say different things when talks turn to actually addressing the issue," Friese said.

A committee formed by the Office of the Provost is looking into the needs of students and faculty. Kelly Langager, a UW childcare voucher coordinator, said the committee is still in the early stages of investigation and hasn't provided any serious results yet.

The committee is considering boosting enrollment slots by building a new campus daycare, a possibility Langager said wouldn't necessarily help low-income students.

"There's a difference between available slots and funding," she said. "The difference is [that the] funding is money given to help people pay for costs."

Langager said without an increase in childcare assistance funding, a new facility would most likely benefit faculty and staff, doing little to address low-income student needs.

But not everyone thinks the UW should have on-campus childcare facilities. Paul Brown, director of UW Housing and Food Services [HTML_REMOVED] the organization responsible for running and maintaining UW childcare facilities [HTML_REMOVED] said building and maintaining childcare centers is an inefficient use of school resources.

Brown said funding voucher programs with money normally spent running and maintaining buildings would be a cost-effective way of approaching childcare.

"There isn't a perfect solution to this problem," Brown said. "There are OK solutions and better solutions. If you open a [daycare] center, it probably costs between $500,000 to $1 million, plus to build and even more to run and maintain. And it still will only hold 50 children. Putting that money into the voucher program seems to be one of the better ways of dealing with the issue."

Until funding is secured, students-parents, like Greene, say they will continue to struggle financially.

"I'm knocking myself out to get this degree finished, and sometimes I just have to ask myself, 'is this really worth it?'"

Reach reporter Brian Slodysko at news@thedaily.washington.edu.