Several University families have been left concerned and uncertain of their children’s future at the LSU Child Care Center in the aftermath of a recent fee scale restructuring at the center. The center switched Aug. 1 from a fee scale based on household income to a scale based on University affiliation, and combined with a fee increase across the board, the new policy has proven too expensive for some in the University community.  Rebecca Huckeba, administrative coordinator for Women’s and Gender Studies, said she made it to the top of the waiting list after waiting nearly five months, but had to withdraw her 2-year-old daughter’s name because she was no longer able to afford it with the new scale. “It seems like if you make enough money working in this University, then you can use the day care,” Huckeba said. “But if you don’t make enough money, then you can’t — and it just doesn’t feel right.”Families making $25,000 or less annually paid the lowest fee of $565 a month at the center before the change. For every $25,000 increase in family income, the fee increased $50. With the new system, full-time students paying through their fee bill are charged the lowest fee, which is now $595. Those in the former second bracket of $615 now pay the part-time student rate of $695, unless they qualify for the full-time student rate. University faculty and staff who pay through their fee bill or payroll deduction also pay $695. The final bracket switched from $715 for families making more than $100,000 to $735 for University alumni, secondary affiliated families and any student, faculty or staff not paying through their fee bill. Michelle DeMeulenaere, LSU Child Care Center director, said center officials worked with the Office of Budget and Planning and the Office of Finance and Administrative Services to develop a plan with “the smallest impact on the largest number of families.”The average increase to the majority of the center’s families is around 5 percent, according to a newsletter from the center. “We offer a lot for our families,” DeMeulenaere said. “You pay for basically what you get.”DeMeulenaere said spot priority is given to undergraduates, but so far no graduate students have been denied the student rate. But one graduate student, who chose to remain anonymous because her daughter still attends day care at the center, said she was “explicitly told graduate students did not qualify for the student rate,” and her fee increased $130 from $565 to $695.”That’s the same cost as a week’s worth of food,” she said.Cassie Breaux, LSU Child Care Center associate director, said the center implemented a grandfathering system, where the rate slowly increases incrementally over time to ensure no one is forced to pay a large fee increase all at once. She said the process usually lasts a year.The graduate student said she was not informed of a grandfathering system. REASONS FOR THE SWITCHAnother misunderstanding dealt with the reasons behind the tuition restructuring.Both the graduate student and Huckeba said they were told the new scale was a result of budget cuts, but DeMeulenaere said it was because of University Policy PS-113, which governs the collection, maintenance, use and disclosure of Social Security Numbers on campus.Breaux said the center was required to collect income documentation that contained Social Security Numbers when the scale was based on household income, but they wanted to move away from that system.Michelle Massé, Women’s and Gender Studies director, is a member of a task force that is currently working on programs to support graduate students who become parents.Massé said a scale that groups all faculty members together may not be entirely fair as classification as a faculty member can mean earning anywhere from $25,000 to several hundreds of thousands of dollars. Huckeba said she thought she would receive some type of substantial benefit because she worked at the University. She wasn’t the only one.Jessica Ketcham Weber, English graduate student, said she would have needed childcare for her 4-month-old child had she not received her current dissertation fellowship. But she wouldn’t have been able to afford the center on campus.”I may have been able to swing it on the old scale, but definitely not now,” Weber said.Weber said the fact the center doesn’t have a more affordable deal for students is disheartening. She said the center should recognize the financial strain of being a student and mother.”Quite frankly, I don’t know how students can afford it — $595 a month — that’s a lot if you’re a student,” Huckeba said.Weber said her average income as a graduate student was around $12,500 a year prior to her current dissertation fellowship. The rate she would pay at the center, if eligible, is $595 per month, which totals to $7,140 per year.  “That’s more than half of the paycheck,” Weber said.DeMeulenaere said the center, which is Class A and accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, requires its staff to have college degrees, has a low ratio of children to staff, CPR-certified teachers and a convenient location.DeMeulenaere said the center ranks in the middle in terms of fees compared to other quality star-rated, NAEYC-accredited centers. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCEDeMeulenaere said she encourages families to seek programs to help offset the costs of childcare.”For the students who are at the $595 rate, most are eligible for the Child Care Assistance Program,” she said.CCAP is a state subsidy open to anyone who is eligible, and it comes from the Department of Social Services Office of Family Support, Breaux said. The requirements are based on family income.”That can pay up to $325 a month out of the $595 rate,” DeMeulenaere said.A family of three must make less than $3,158 a month and meet other stipulations to qualify, according to the program’s Web site.
—-Contact Sarah Eddington at [email protected]