A lack of child-care options has sparked the formation of a new organization on campus.

Jerry Neppel, graduate student in agronomy, and Mindy Green, graduate student in psychology, have started the Student University Childcare Advocacy Group to lobby for child-care issues in the ISU and Ames communities.

“We see ourselves acting as liaisons for child-care issues directly to the administration,” Neppel said.

Julia Hagen, ISU child-care coordinator, said she sees the new group as an excellent way to make people aware of the day-care options that are available.

“The group would be the eyes, ears and voice of the students,” she said.

It could provide a voice of student-parents to the Government of Student Body and Graduate Student Senate that an individual voice could not, Neppel said. Currently, Green and Neppel are on the University Childcare Committee (UCC).

UCC members are from all levels of the university, from different organizations such as GSB and colleges of the university. Its main function is to give recommendations on child care.

The new advocacy group is different from UCC because it is made up of any students who want to join, and it will give recommendations to UCC.

“I think it’s instrumental that the two groups work together to hear students and faculty and staff voices to benefit the ISU community,” said Hagen, member of UCC.

The goal of the advocacy group is to increase and improve the resources that are available. The group plans on gearing itself toward university-affiliated child care, but it sees a need for improvement in general.

“Within the Ames community, child-care needs are stretched,” Neppel said.

Day care is a personal issue for Neppel because he has two children, a 3-year-old and a 9-month-old. “The current availability of child care through the university is a year to two years’ [wait],” he said.

Neppel said university and community day-care centers are just one aspect; home-care providers also need to be considered.

The advocacy group plans on working to improve availability in two main areas.

First, the group members feel the need to replace the existing Pammel Court facility because it is out-of-date. “The resources are stretched beyond what they could and should be,” Neppel said.

The organization also wants to look into areas on the west side of campus. One of the things they are looking into is the feasibility of renovating an older church, Neppel said.

Unfortunately for the group members, they do not know how much child care is needed.

“The last university assessment was performed in 1992,” Neppel said.

Another problem facing the group is getting declared an organization and creating a unified voice. The group only has two members, and it formed in January.

Most of the communication for the group will be through e-mail in order to accommodate students’ schedules, Neppel said. The group is open to all students, whether they have children or not.