In response to the high demand for campus child care, the UC Office of the President is offering campuses non-state assistance to expand child-care services.

Under the new initiative, launched by UC President Richard C. Atkinson, funds raised by individual campuses totaling $1 million, $1.5 million or $2 million will be matched by UCOP with $750,000, $1 million or $1.25 million, respectively.

While the parameters of the proposal have not yet been established, UCLA is already preparing to meet the challenge and has begun talks with the development office about ways to raise the money, said Gay Macdonald, executive director of Child Care Services at UCLA. Additionally, Chancellor Albert Carnesale has expressed his personal commitment to child care and has given the green light to fund-raising efforts.

"It's too good an opportunity to pass up," Macdonald said. "Here's a chance to get outside funding."

Last year, a UC child-care task force recommended UC work toward providing a sufficient number of spaces in campus facilities to match demand in five years. UCLA's Gender Equity Committee also asked last August for more child care on the campus.

At UCLA, there are 240 licensed spaces in three centers for children, two months old to kindergarten-age; yet, the waiting list is more than double that number. According to Macdonald, many families don't even apply because of the prohibitively long wait list and cost, which is best afforded by students receiving subsidies and by higher- paid faculty and staff.

With the large number of new faculty and additional staff that will be hired as a result of Tidal Wave II, demand for child care is expected to rise. "Having child care that's accessible will tend to make UCLA an employer of choice in a highly competitive market," noted Macdonald.

With funding support, UCLA could build a child-care center that will incorporate cutting-edge ideas about early childhood and children's needs into its design. "UCLA sets standards; we don't play follow-the-leader. We're well-placed to build something very groundbreaking and conceptual," said Macdonald.