Free childcare will be offered to student parents, courtesy of Long Beach City College’s new partnership with the Boys and Girls Club starting Oct. 17.
The program is set to run Monday through Thursday, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the T building at the Liberal Arts Campus.
Parents will also have the option to enroll their children at the Boys and Girls Club site, which is adjacent to the Pacific Coast Campus. This site operates Monday through Friday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
LBCC does have other childcare services that were offered prior to this, but those services are focused on providing care for children ages two to five or children whose parents face housing insecurities.
The only eligibility requirement for this new program is that a parent be enrolled as a part-time or full-time student at the college.
“A lot of our students have school-aged children and they have limited care options for them if they want to continue to go to school,” president Mike Munoz said on the program.
This program aims to alleviate the stress of students who struggle to find the time for their academic work because of their parental responsibilities.
Bibiana Chatman is the mother of two boys ages 12 and 14, who is obtaining her nursing degree at LBCC while also working full time to support her family.
Her ambitious attitude drives her to finish her education at a quicker rate, and this childcare program is one big step in helping her achieve that.
“I want to be a full-time student so I can finish a little bit faster but I don’t have the flexibility because of my kids and work schedule,” Chatman said. “With this childcare program, my schedule would be open and I could take more classes and have more study time.”
Joann Weston, another student parent, is interested in the program for a different reason. Her daughter is homeschooled and hopes that the program will engage her daughter in afterschool activities. `
“When I saw that they had this program available with the Boys and Girls Club, I signed up right away.” Weston said. “My daughter doesn’t have any activities and I want her to have some. But activities cost money, and as a single parent it is a lot harder to pay for those things.”
Students like Chatman and Weston will be able to use this program to fit their individual needs. Each parent faces unique challenges, and this program will be able to reduce some of the stress levels and difficulties they face.
This childcare service also intends to implement new features as the program runs along to continue to have a wider variety of options for children and parents.
President Munoz mentioned plans to partner with the Long Beach Unified School District to set up a transportation system that would escort children to the care sites if parents are not able to.
He also mentioned that the program would like for students who are studying child development to be involved.
Students studying childcare would be hired by the school and supplement their learning under the supervision of the licensed caretakers of the Boys and Girls Club.
From free childcare to supplemental learning, this program intends to provide multiple levels of support. This service is another yet another step in the direction of ensuring all students have the resources they need to succeed.