Childcare Committee

Cornell Childcare Services Sub-Committee Meeting
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
10:00 — 12:00
Day Hall B12
MINUTES

Voting members present

Brenda Marston*, KC Rose, Laurie Miller, Mark Jasinski

Non-voting members and guests present

Michelle Artibee, Stephen Morgan, Marya L. Besharov, Brenda Wickes, Theresa Rapacki

Unable to attend

Amy O’Donnell, Phil Davis, Cresten Mansfeldt, Yael Levitte, Sue Dale-Hall, Eileen Whang

• Minutes recorder

I. Welcome and introductions.

1. Stephen Morgan, Marya L. Besharov are faculty interested in serving on the committee and attending for the first time.
2. Brenda Wickes and Theresa Rapacki are attending to report on this year’s child care grant programs.

II. Volunteer to take minutes — Brenda.

III. Update on Staff/Faculty Child Care Grant program this year. (Theresa Rapacki, Benefit Services)

1. There were 846 applications compared to 881 last year. Theresa shared graphs showing the percent of families and children at different income levels compared to last year. There weren’t significant changes there. She also shared a bar graph showing the average out of pocket expenses as % of income, by income group, figured with the child care awards included. After receiving a child care grant, families earning less than $35,000/year on average will pay 15.76% of their income for childcare. We think this is a substantial change, a drop of about 5% from last year.
2. Theresa also summarized the ways her office communicated about and advertised the child care grant.
3. Theresa noticed that people may change where their child(ren) have care after applying for a grant; deciding they can’t afford the place they may have put on the grant application. Grant awards are not adjusted.
4. Michelle — in the past, HR has considered using “community rates” rather than asking applicants to provide information on their actual anticipated expenses. The committee had a conversation on making the process more equitable and the goal of making it possible for people to improve the care their children receive.
5. Theresa: people do submit expenses before getting reimbursed. No one gets money they aren’t actually using to cover childcare.
6. For the first year of CCCC, there was a supplemental grant available, beyond the $5000 limit. This year, the supplemental grant is available through AON/Select Benefits. A few families returned it because didn’t want to be taxed. Stephen: how are those grants determined? A: For families earning less than $85k. $1.4 million for all grants. Improved process by not requiring separate application for the CCCC grant.

IV. Update on Student Childcare Grant. (Brenda Wicks, Graduate School)

1. Needed to simplify the process to do it; don’t have administrative support. Several employees on 10 month positions, out June and July. Postponed deadline to Oct. 15 and funds distributed Dec. 1.
2. Went to flat grant. Irrespective of where kids went and cost. One rate for infant/child care, one for school age kids. Distributed once a year, not 3 times.
3. Household income limit of $60,000. (same as in past)
4. Results: avg. award $2,547/child in fy09. $1,605 in fy 08. In FY09 were $100,000 over budget, so based awards on FY08 figures.
5. 59 families applied, 41 got grants. 83 awards last year. 43 grad, 5 undergrad, and a few professional students applied.
6. 14 ineligible due to income, international students with spouses not working (?), or not in daycare yet. Three people had kids not in country yet. Undergrad on leave.
7. $150,000 is budget. Have distributed $80,000. Leaving open enrollment for families for people’s whose situation changes.
8. Gave $1,605 per infant/pre-K kid. $802 per school age kid.
9. Had applicants fill out federal work study application to get info from families. Consistency for financial aid offices.
10. 5 had increased awards; 5 had decreased awards. No supplemental award for families at CCCC. Negative feedback
11. This is only support Cornell gives to students with families.
12. Did peer survey of Ivy plus. All do flat grants. Our awards are average for universities that give grants at all.
13. Gannett added question to application for student health care asking if they have kids. Will be able to get that information.
14. Big Red Barn, Andrea Woodward, is a “family fellow” (?) and trying to start programming for graduate families with kids.
15. Thinking of 9/15 deadline and disbursement in Oct for next year.
16. Will send data on number of applicants, number of children in family, and family income to us so Yael and analyze data; look at % of income if there were to pay “community standard” rates.

V. Updates:

1. Laurie Miller, Family Services Committee.
   1. Faculty want more support for childcare. Princeton provides funding for childcare when faculty attend conferences. Also want wider campus recognition of flex policy and other family friendly initiatives.
2. Michelle Artibee, Human Resources updates and Cornell Child Care Center
   1. Eileen Whang will be devoting more of her time to elder care initiatives. Rosemary Brahman is going to take on special projects, including liaison to CCCC. Being trained now; transition happening. Rose will attend our meetings when there are issues relevant to CCCC, by invitation.
   2. OHR looking at improvements to website for CCCC.
   3. Teacher titles brought up at CCCC; teachers happy as is, and do have choice to not use the title. Stephen said the committee’s concern about this struck parents as bizarre, since there are more pressing issues.
3. President’s response.
   1. KC: if they want to keep grants for families over 100k, univ should put in more money. Discussion of this.
   2. Michelle: at MIT, departments and deans put in money for women faculty for childcare expenses. Stephen doubts departments can do that; they couldn’t at Cornell.
      Post-meeting clarification: Each year twelve designated campus child care spaces are given to faculty at MIT. Nine of the twelve are held for assignment by the Provost in order to support faculty recruitment efforts. Provost assignments are made by June of the year for the following September; un-assigned provost spaces are given, along with the remaining three faculty slots, to faculty on the waiting list, by date of application. The slots are used for the recruitment and retention of women and minority faculty members. They have had no negative feedback on this policy. The twelve spaces are from a pool of roughly 150 on campus and 110 at an off-campus location. The slots are not subsidized - they are offered by June 1 for the following Sept. 1. If the faculty member requests a slot later and it results in a loss of tuition income for the center, than the department is asked to cover the cost, which they have done a number of times for recruited faculty arriving mid-year, or for faculty with infants born mid-year. (Information obtained from the MIT Center for Work, Family & Personal Life).
   3. Stephen says Advance and departments are unhappy that they can’t promise spots to faculty they want to recruit. Discussion of the issue of saving spots for faculty, the Provost’s decision not to save spots, and a short review of the committee’s deliberations on the topic. We considered various options including rationing spots based on category of applicant, but ended up recommending a lottery.

VI. Committee business:

1. Update on open positions. Undergrad position still open, and have an extra Presidential appointee spot available. Brenda has asked the Women’s Resource Center and Dean of Students office for suggestions of undergrad reps.
2. Vote to approve 10/20/09 minutes. 4 yes. Approved.

VII. Adjourn (Noon)