The UW’s child care centers are packed, with more than 730 kids waiting for an open spot in one of the three day care centers located on or near campus.

The Board of Regents recently placed a funding request for $1.25 million to be used to renovate an existing University building for use as a new day care center. But a specific timetable is not yet available, and the problem of too many kids for too few spaces won’t go away soon.

In the short term, the UW’s Childcare Voucher Program provides parents with extra financial help in paying for off-campus day care. The program is funded exclusively through the Student Services and Activities fee that all students pay.

In the 2006-2007 fiscal year, these fees provided $757,000 worth of child care subsidies that served 172 students and 240 children.

“It gives students a lot of freedom, using the voucher system,” said Suzanne Haggard, the executive director of Haggard Nelson Childcare Resources, the company that runs the child care facilities at Radford Court, Laurel Village and on west campus.

The vouchers provide up to 60 percent of the monthly costs for infants, toddlers and preschoolers.

Parents enrolled in 10 full time credits as a graduate student or 12 as an undergraduate can qualify for assistance based on their income level. For example, the maximum adjusted income a family of four can make per year to qualify for the program is about $62,000, and a family of two can make up to $41,000 a year. The Office of Student Financial Aid determines eligibility, and more aid is given to those who fall below the threshold.

“Given our funding, we’ve been able to serve to an average income level of $33,196 so far this year,” said Diana Herrmann, coordinator for the UW’s Student Parent Resource Center. There are 43 people on the waiting list for the voucher program, she said.

The program has been criticized for not doing enough.

Some married students have a combined income that disqualifies them from receiving much in the way of aid. Since they attend school full-time, they may also have trouble paying both tuition and the costs of keeping their children in day care.

“We’re going deeper into debt every month to pay for our child care,” said Megan Mayes, a full-time MBA student in the UW Business School and the mother of a 2-year-old toddler. She said her case is not unique.

“For them to make so many promises, I just feel like they don’t keep them all,” she said.

According to UW Human Resources, for a student living in family housing, it costs $1,100 for one month of care for an infant up to a year old, $960 a month for a toddler up to 3 years old and $845 a month for a preschool-age child up to 6 years old. Costs are higher for faculty and staff.

Sarah Reyneveld, vice president of the Graduate and Professional Student Senate, said the answer is more state funding to help provide for more vouchers. The graduate senate and the Washington Student Lobby will seek legislation that matches student government funds with money from the state. Last year, both houses of the state Legislature heard a bill that would have done just that, but it didn’t make it to a final vote.

But even if the state agrees to pay for more vouchers, child care remains an ongoing issue.

“It’s not something that just happened, and it’s not something that’s going to be totally solved,” Haggard said.

She recommends that students get on the waitlist “the minute they find out they’re pregnant,” and that they explore as many different options as possible, including getting on off-site waitlists.

As part of a growing trend of concern about balancing work, school and family life, the quest for reliable and safe child care is an issue that is here to stay, she said.

“It’s really talking about the quality of life, and the quality of your family life, and having good, quality child care is one of those components,” she said. “I think we have highly educated parents that are looking for good child care. They’re looking for better accessibility. I think it’s something we need to address.”

[Reach reporter Will Mari at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]