Survey will collect information on child care needs

An estimated 1,620 faculty and staff have been asked about their child care needs -- current or future -- in a survey from university human resources.

A selected employee group, drawn in part from dependents data in ISU's health plans, received an email Feb. 3 providing a link to the survey. The intent is to gather information about child care use, access, satisfaction, affordability, waitlist experiences, anticipated needs and challenges, said Cris Broshar, child care and family services coordinator. The survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete and will close on Feb. 19.

"We're interested in hearing from employees who currently have kids under the age of 12 years, but also anyone who's planning to have or adopt children in the next two years," Broshar said.

Campus survey is part of broader effort

Survey results will provide data for future funding proposals and guide planning for solutions that support families, including ISU student parents -- who also are being surveyed this month. The two campus surveys were created in collaboration with a survey for Ames and Story County coordinated through United Way of Story County and the Ames Regional Economic Alliance. Conducted Jan. 20-Feb. 3, it surveyed families as well as child care providers. Broshar asked that ISU employees who received and completed that survey still complete the ISU survey. The question sets aren't identical, she said, and the university would like as thorough a data set as possible.

San Francisco-based Pendulum Dependent Care Solutions is the consultant that developed and distributed all of the surveys and will analyze the response data.

Broshar said the university's last comprehensive child care needs assessment was done in 2014.

Key issues: Availability, affordability

"Child care availability remains an ongoing issue, despite new facilities, primarily centers, opening in Ames and Story County," Broshar said. With the number of home-based providers declining significantly over the last 10-15 years, the net result is fewer child care programs in the Ames area, she noted.

"We know affordability also is an issue, so the time is right to get a clear, accurate understanding of our community's child care needs." 

Together, the three on-campus child care centers provide care for about 220 children, with a different operational structure at each. University Community Childcare is a non-profit, the Child Development Laboratory School is part of the College of Health and Human Sciences, and ISU Child Care Center at Veterinary Medicine is operated by the Bright Horizons corporation. Each keeps its own wait list.