An infant class will be added in fall 2007 at the WSU Children’s Center, which provides care for the children of WSU faculty, staff and students.
“In Pullman, as well as anywhere in the U.S., there is a shortage of infant care,” said Mary Ellen Radziemski, director of the center.
The center has nine infant slots, all of which are full. Starting in the fall, a second class will bring the number of infants to 18. Four of the new spaces will be offered to faculty and staff with children and the other five to students with children, Radziemski said.
The change originated after the faculty senate made a proposal to the business office requesting more infant care, Radziemski said. No structural changes will be made, but new equipment, such as cribs, will be added.
Because of regulations about the number of children that can be in each room, there will be a shift in which children the center will accommodate. In an effort to provide additional space for infants and toddlers, school-age child care may have to be phased out, said Terry Boston, executive director of administrative services, though he is working on other options that may not make that necessary. The impact of a phase-out likely would not be felt until fall 2008, Radziemski said.
School-age children do not come in for the full day except in the summer, she said. And with programs like the YMCA’s after-school care program and university recreation’s summer program, the need for school-age care isn’t as prevalent.
The application for the waiting list for the WSU Children’s Center can be found at www.childrenscenter.wsu.edu/default.asp?PageID=139.
