News

New funding is providing additional child care services on campus and may be a forbearer of future expansion. A recent $697,339 grant from the U.S. Department of Education will finance more services and staff development and also subsidize child care fees for low-income student families. The grant follows funding approved this fall by the PSU Student Building Committee for an initiative that will look into expanding child care for as many as 150 children.

Portland State presently has two child care facilities on campus: the short-hour center in Smith Memorial Student Union and the Helen Gordon Child Development Center. Both are subsidized with student fees and provide services to low-income students. However, waiting lists for these facilities range from 500 to 800 families. Student parents, who have left Portland State, cite the difficulty of arranging child care while in class as a major reason for their inability to stay in school.

The Department of Education grant was awarded to Will Parnell, Early Childhood Education faculty; Ellie Justice, Helen Gordon Center director; and Lola Lawson, Student Parent Services coordinator. Justice is spearheading the PSU Student Building Committee-funded planning initiative.