More Childcare Options at OSU as Part of A Family Friendly Culture

Thank you for initiating this. I too faced and continue to face difficult emotional/logistical/financial challenges combining working with mothering my 3-year-old and 7-month-old. The support of my supervisors has been paramount, but it still is incredibly challenging.

I love this initiative to create a more family supportive and friendly community at OSU

I hope our University can see this petition as an opportunity to create a more sustainable system for families (faculty, students ...) and evolve into a friendly space for all!

I have now been through the going back to work process twice and both times it was miserable. I am a classified employee and I barely make enough to live off of so childcare is a mixture of grandparents and a babysitter. I felt hopeless in being able to find something that was affordable to me. I am also lucky that I have a supervisor that works with me and my strange schedule, but I am fearful for what will happen next with the department I work for. I hate leaving my kids and I wish that I could have stayed home with them longer, but it just wasn't possible. Not having affordable and trustworthy childcare puts an incredible strain on me mentally and financially.

Thank you for creating this petition. I am in strong support!

6 months of paid maternity leave should be a right for all mothers and caregivers, including fathers and those who are caring for aging family members.

This is a critical need on our campus. I feel passionately about this issue both personally, as the pregnant mother of a 2 year-old, and professionally as a faculty member whose teaching focuses on the policies and services needed to support healthy children, families and communities. Whereas many supervisors and colleagues are supportive and understand the challenges of balancing work and family needs, the university system needs to adapt to meet the needs of employees and students with a range of family obligations. Greater access to paid leave and quality child care is essential.

I can absolutely relate to so much of this. I too am lucky enough to have childcare provided by a family member, but I only chose that option because I felt I had no other choice. I also struggled with running out of paid leave and being unable to make doctor appointments shortly after childbirth. I have never been in a position where flexible hours/schedules was an option, which has been very unfortunate.

I strongly support this petition!!!

The statistics show that Oregon childcare is not affordable and not accessible (not enough spots available). This offers a great opportunity for Corvallis and OSU to lead the state in remedying this issue and supporting families and children. I have been fortunate in finding spots, but many other colleagues and friends have not. At the same time, the scarcity makes it difficult to really trust we can find the best options for our family (little chance to really find the best match for our needs). In short, I think we all simply want to discuss better options, problem-solve, and hear more about why so many barriers remain.

We has signed up for Beaver Beginnings (which is a GREAT childcare by the way!) when we first learned that I was pregnant. We got in when our baby was nearly a year old. We actually shipped family from abroad to help out... I drove home to breastfeed at lunch times for a year, and I went back to work full time when she was 3 weeks old. I had short term disability but that wouldn't kick in because I had enough sick leave days for 3 weeks! - and I had to take these, first. With my second child, I was able to take 6 weeks off because short term disability changed their rules. This was still, most certainly, not enough! Do you know that the US is one of only 4 countries in the world that do not have paid family leave related to childbirth? That situation is not even humane. I agree: we NEED paid family leave, and yes, more affordable childcare on campus would help.

I strongly support this petition. It would be especially helpful for working parents if there were care provided for the many days in which the elementary and middle schools are closed! Additionally, Kid Spirit is great, but it is costly for working parents. Being a single parent, I am especially conscious about cost, but I know I'm not alone.

I remain appalled that OSU has no paid parental leave. When my son was born 13 years ago, I was only able to take off for 6 days. It was a horrible way to begin motherhood and was also bad for my career -- trying to do two important things and not able to either very well. FMLA didn't work in my case because I was I started my tenure-track position when I was 5 months pregnant. I hadn't even accrued enough sick leave to take off more than 2.5 days. We need parental leave!!!!

While I do not have young children any more, I have not forgotten the challenges that revolve around affordable care options as well as convenience.

I hear about this a lot from my friends and colleagues who have children, or are pregnant. Fostering and encouraging work-life balance includes helping faculty, staff and students access supports for the family part of their life.

Affordable options for school breaks are also needed for families with school aged children. KidSpirit is wonderful but the cost is out of reach for most families.

This is needed!!! Unbelievably so! Please do this. I've been on beaver beginnings wait list for 28 months!!

Our story is much like Autumn's. I don't know what we would have done without the friends and family who stepped in to help watch our daughter when affordable campus/community child care options were impossible to locate. Thanks Autumn for voicing the concerns and needs of many. :)

Way to go girl! I'm so on board, and so in need.

This is great!