PVCC hopes to start child-sitting program to help student-parents

Officials at Piedmont Virginia Community College are hoping they’ll soon be able to offer a child-minding service for parents attending the school, after plans to work with University of Virginia Health Services Foundation to provide daycare on site fell through.

“We believe there are many people out in our community who are postponing the higher education they want because they don’t have child care available,” said PVCC President Frank Friedman.

In addition to bringing new students into education, officials believe it’ll make the school a better experience for students who already attend and have children.

With that in mind, officials are hoping to start looking at proposals from vendors for such a program by the first of the year, with the aim of having the service in place by the fall of 2012.

It’s not yet clear what the financial implications for the school will be, and options range from a subsidized program to one that pays PVCC for the privilege of operating in its space, said William P. Jackameit, the school’s vice president for finance and administrative services.

It’s also not yet clear how much renovation work would need to be done to house the service, or who would pay for it. Officials hope to house the program in the lower level of the technology wing of the main building.

The school already runs its food services and bookstore via outside contractors.

PVCC is modeling its program in part on the one at Tidewater Community College, where child-minding runs $6 per hour per child. That program is open from 7:30 a.m. to 10:15 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays. It accepts children ages six months to 12 years, and certifies that all staff members have passed criminal background and tuberculosis tests, according to Tidewater’s website.

The Tidewater program is described as including “educational experiences, diaper changing and snacks.”

Officials expect that students will be able to use certain types of financial aid to pay for the service, Jackameit said. The service will likely be able to handle about 60 students.

“It’s not daycare,” Jackameit said. “It’s not nursery school.”

There would be limits on how many hours per day children could spend in the program.

College officials have wanted to provide some sort of arrangement to watch children for more than a decade, Jackameit said.

“It’s removing a barrier to some students enrolling,” said college spokeswoman Anita Showers. “We know the need exists.”