| CHILD CARE SERVICES |
UCI faculty and staff have numerous options for childcare. The three main choices include the following:
(1) Child Care Centers on the UCI Campus:
- The UCI campus has five child care centers that offer full-time
and part-time programs. For details on each center, see http://www.childcare.uci.edu
or phone the main office at (949) 824-2100. The Infant/Toddler Center
provides services for children aged three months to two and one-half
years. The Early Childhood Education Center serves children ages five
to twelve.
The University Montessori School serves children ages three months to first grade using the Montessori educational philosophy. The programs are designed to meet the individual needs of each child, and they provide environments in which diverse cultural, ethnic, and personal teaching and parenting styles are encouraged. Tuition varies at each center.
- Priority is given to UCI faculty, staff and students, although
unfilled spots may go to members of the community. Note that there are
substantial waiting lists, and it is highly advisable to sign up early
and be flexible in your choice of center.
(2) Child Care Centers in Irvine:
- The City of Irvine maintains a very helpful web site regarding child care that includes topics such as parental tips, licensing information, referral service, etc. at http://cityofirvine.org/depts/cs/childcare
- A list of Irvine child care centers, which includes the various UCI campus sites, is found at http://cityofirvine.org/depts/cs/childcare/child_care_sites.asp. As with UCI child care facilities, the waiting lists may be substantially long. It is advisable to sign up early and investigate numerous centers.
(3) Priviate or Shared Nannies:
- Some parents prefer more individual supervision than a child care center provides and thus nannies are a commonly used option. In addition, a nanny might be your only option (or at least a temporary one) if the waiting list at the child care center of your choice is curently full. The State of California provides some very useful tools for parents at Trustline (http://trustline.org). Trustline maintains a state-wide registry of child care workers (nannies and baby sitters) who have passed criminal background checks. Their web page contains excellent resources for patents that includes tips for finding and hiring a nanny, lists of referral agencies, and other resources.
- If you are looking for a nanny who has had past experience with children of UCI faculty or you wish to advertise to find a family with which to share a nanny, see the Classified Ad section of the University Hills Newsletter (http://www.uhills.org)