Before she was able to leave her two young children at the new Child Development Center at Bakersfield College, Lisa Daniels often had to stay home and miss her classes because she didn’t have any day care.
“When I first started school, I didn’t have any day care that was reliable,” said the 24-year-old BC student, who is also working as an intern for the center. “I didn’t have anyone that I could just leave my children with. Now that I can drop them off at the same place everyday and then go to class just a minute away, it’s possible for me to go to school.”
According to Mary Ann Albanes, program director at the Child Development Center, many students have difficulties in finding day care and those who can’t afford reliable day care probably have to miss school.
“Having the services here on campus helps facilitate one place where parents can drop off their children,” Albanes said. “Parents need to know they have a safe place for their children to be and that they’re going to receive good, quality care.”
Albanes said there are many low-income students who bring their children to the center, and some receive aid in paying for their day care if they meet the income criteria.
Wendy Wayne, the division administrator for Child Development and Family Services, estimates the parents of 5,300 children in Bakersfield are waiting for assistance in getting child care. She said the first thing parents in need of affordable day care should do is contact the Centralized Child Care Information Services to find out about local day care and be put on the waiting list for getting help to pay for child care.
“We are working toward making the child care system in California better,” Wayne said. “But the state budget is not thriving.”
Wayne said she believes the number of students who are struggling to obtain child care is increasing.
“It makes it difficult for them to stay in school,” she said. “Every parent wants the best for their kids, and the stress from not having quality day care can be very detrimental.”
Lenora Daniels, the Child Development Center’s preschool program supervisor, said it was common 10 years ago to see many parents bring their children to school with them, but that trend has greatly diminished.
“I think professors are increasingly frowning at students bringing their kids to class,” she said.
On Sept. 5, the Associated Students of Bakersfield College put on a Fall Welcome dance, where a student and his sister brought a younger sibling with them.
Student Activities Director Andrew Bickers said this is the first time he’s heard of students bringing children with them on campus and that while someone complained to a security guard at the dance, he received no complaints. Bickers said that what he witnessed at the portion of the dance he attended was not inappropriate.
“It was a regular dance, there weren’t even that many people there,” Bickers said. “I did not stand in and watch the entire dance. If there was something inappropriate going on, I did not see it.”
Bickers said there may be a policy on students bringing their children with them on campus or to class, but it is not found in the school’s handbook.
“That doesn’t mean one doesn’t exist,” Bickers said. He added that there possibly is an unwritten law that says, “Professors basically have control of their classrooms and can do whatever they want.”
Susan McQuerrey, the president of the Academic Senate, said she also was not aware of any existing policy regarding parents bringing their children to class with them.
Albanes said the first step in solving the shortage of day care is to petition the local legislatures on the need for quality child care.
“People need to know that we have legislatures who are living in the past and say, ‘Well, Mom should stay at home,’ ” Albanes said, “when they know a high percentage of women are either single parents or in a two-parent household but still have to work to maintain a decent lifestyle.”
Those interested in getting information about affordable day care can contact the Child Development Center at BC, Community Connection For Child Care at 861-5200, or the Centralized Child Care Information Services at (877) 321-3106.