Pasadena : Child-Care Program OKd

A city-employee child-care program and a $100,000 loan program to operate child-care centers in Northwest Pasadena were approved Tuesday by the Board of Directors.

Under the $171,020 Model Employer Program, the city will provide a subsidy to low- and moderate-income city employees who need help paying for child care. The board approved providing $142,000 to such payments that are expected to average about $87 monthly for very low-income city workers.

The program also provides six months of unpaid maternity leave for city workers who could return to a reduced work week of 20 hours. City employees would be allowed to take sick leave for family emergencies or to care for a sick child.

Under the Northwest Child Care Trust Fund, three-year loans at 5% interest would be provided to family day-care homes and child-care centers in Northwest Pasadena, the city’s largest minority neighborhood.

The model employer program is an effort by the city to set an example and to encourage private businesses in Pasadena to set up child-care programs. Only Santa Monica and Irvine offer similar subsidies to city employees.

The Pasadena loan program will begin July 1, but the city’s child-care program will initially serve only management and non-union employees. Labor unions representing about 1,200 of the city’s 1,600 workers must agree to the child-care program before it goes into effect for unionized employees.