Finding childcare can be difficult, but Iowa State faculty and students have two “top quality” options on campus: University Community Childcare at Pammel Court and University Childcare Center at Veterinary Medicine.

The on-campus facilities are “two of the top quality programs in Ames,” said Eileen Sotak, senior in elementary education. The teachers at both programs are praiseworthy, she said.

Penny Pepper, director of University Community Childcare, saidThe center at Pammel Court is run by a private, non-profit organization, said The University Childcare Center at Veterinary Medicine is owned by the university and managed by Bright Horizons, a childcare business, said Linda Bartleson, director of the center.

The center is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m, Bartleson said. About 60 percent of the children at the center are children of ISU students, she said, and about 40 percent are children of faculty members.

Cost is an important factor people seeking childcare need to consider, said Sonia Johnson, former childcare consultant at ISU’s Center for Child Care Resources.

“The largest issue facing student families is the affordability of the services,” she said.

Jerri Baumeister, director of the Center for Child Care Resources, said the average cost for childcare in Ames ranges from $125 per week for infants to $76 per week for school-aged children.

The cost of childcare at the University Community Childcare center varies depending upon the family’s income and the child’s age, Pepper said.

The average yearly cost of childcare for a 4-year-old in Iowa was between $4,500 and $5,700 in 1997, Johnson said.

“Many students take out loans to pay for childcare rather than tuition,” Johnson said.

There are some state subsidy programs, Johnson said, but they are only available to undergraduate students.

These programs pay the average state cost for childcare, and this is sometimes less than what the center is charging, she said.

The Iowa State Child Care Committee would like the university to create a scholarship for students with children to help defray the cost of childcare, Sotak said.

Even if people can afford childcare, there might not be room for their children at the childcare center of their choice, Johnson said.

“Part-time care is difficult to find,” she said.

Bartleson said 82 children are enrolled at the University Childcare Center at Veterinary Medicine, but there are 242 students on the waiting list.

“Some people have been on the waiting list for over a year,” Bartleson said.

University Community Childcare is licensed for 79 children and has a waiting list of about 200 children, Pepper said.

The University Community Childcare center also provides a program called Flex Care, Pepper said. It is available weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and is a part-time care program open for 27 children.

The Center for Child Care Resources is another place that students can turn to when seeking childcare. Pepper said the center provides students with referrals to other childcare centers in Ames.

“The service is available to ISU families at no cost,” Johnson said. She said more than 300 ISU families have contacted the center.