Free Infant Care for Low-Income Students
Beginning Monday, Cal State Northridge will offer free licensed infant care for low-income students with children 3 and younger.
The newly established Family Child Care Network, made possible by a $172,477 grant from the Child Development Division of the U.S. Department of Education, will offer the service to CSUN students at Department of Social Service-licensed family child-care homes in Northridge and surrounding communities, said Arlene Rhine, director of the CSUN Children’s Center.
“The students at CSUN have been asking for infant care for years and we’re finally able to do something that they’ve been wanting for a long, long time,” said Rhine, whose center currently offers full- and part-time care to children between the ages of 2 and 5.
The year-round service will be available from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays. Evening and Saturday hours for the fall and spring semesters will be determined at a later date, she said.
“There is no way students with infants can pay for child care, work and go to school at the same time,” she said. “This program provides a way for these parents to get a good education so they can get good jobs and become self-sufficient families.”
CSUN students interesting in obtaining free infant care must go through an eligibility screening process, Rhine said. Priority will be given to families with the lowest incomes, she said.
Applications are available at the Children’s Center, 18343 Plummer St., Northridge. For more information, contact Rhine at (818) 677-2012.
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