SYLMAR : Grant to Train Care Facility Operators

Mission College has received an $80,000 grant from the state for a pilot program to train people to care for the elderly or children.

The course would train people who want to operate facilities for the elderly or children--or centers that pair the elderly with the very young, which are growing in popularity, said Sandra Lampert, a family and consumer studies instructor at the college.

“We find there will be a growing need for this,” said Lampert. “The elderly are living longer. Who’s going to care for them? And child care has always been very popular.”

Part of the reason that child-care courses tend to be full is that students must take them to fulfill tight state requirements for people entering the field, said Lampert.

The same soon will be true of elderly care, after the state Assembly passed a bill requiring 15 hours of specialized training for workers and operators of facilities for the elderly, said Lampert. Mission College’s course will satisfy that requirement, she said.

The college was one of three in the state to be chosen by California Community Colleges for the intergenerational course, which will be offered in the spring semester, Lampert said.

The college will tailor the program toward ethnic minorities and low-income students.

Eventually, it may make the course a permanent offering in its gerontology department, Lampert said.

“We’re going to see how it works out,” Lampert said. “We hope that we can incorporate it.”