IUSB selects operator for child care center

June 30--SOUTH BEND -- Childcare of Michiana LLC, a private provider, will assume management and operation of the Child Development Center at Indiana University South Bend.

Monday marked the last day of the child care center's operation by IU. The center will be closed from today through early August, and reopen in mid-August under the management and operation of South Bend resident Jennifer Long, owner of South Bend-based Childcare of Michiana.

Long was director of IU South Bend's Child Development Center from 2004 to 2006, and has worked in early childhood education for more than 20 years.

"I'm really excited about the opportunity. I know how important quality child care is for (IU South Bend) students," Long said in a telephone interview.

"Our fees aren't set yet. They will be comparable with other area child-care centers," Long said.

IU South Bend Chancellor Terry Allison announced in March that operation of the center had to be outsourced if it was to stay open. The center is intended to operate entirely on fees paid by parents whose children are served there, but the campus has been subsidizing the facility and the deficit has been growing -- to approximately $143,000 for 2014-2015.

"We are happy that our students will continue to have access to child care on campus," Allison said Monday in a written statement. "We worked hard to make that happen."

The university advertised a request for proposals from private firms interested in operating the center. Childcare of Michiana was the only vendor that submitted a proposal, said Ken Baierl, Allison's chief of staff.

Long has a bachelor's degree in early childhood, kindergarten and primary education from Ball State University. She said she is pursuing a master's degree in elementary education with an early childhood specialization at IU South Bend.

Childcare of Michiana currently runs two home-based child-care centers in South Bend: Discoveries Infant Toddler Center at 1243 Helmen Drive, which has been in operation about two years, and Imagination Preschool, 1332 Browne Lane, which opened a couple weeks ago.

Long has six employees total at those two facilities. Long said she expects to employ a minimum of 14 employees at the child care center on campus, including many recent staff members. The center's current director, Mary Wilham-Countway, will continue working at the center.

The university-operated center until Monday employed 11 full-time and three part-time workers, who were IU employees and eligible for IU pay and benefits, including health insurance.

"We have invited all the current employees to apply for positions," Long said.

Employees hired by Childcare of Michiana will receive health-care stipends and some paid days off, Long said. They will not be provided health insurance. Health insurance isn't a typical benefit provided by private childcare center operators.

The contract was reviewed and approved by the IU Office of Procurement Services, the administration at IU South Bend and the campus vendor review panel.

The agreement calls for a Child Development Advisory Board made up of two representatives of IU South Bend, two parents using the facility and two community members. The Child Development Center will be required to provide monthly reports to the dean of IU South Bend's School of Education.

The center will continue to serve children of IU South Bend students, employees and community residents. There will be a fee discount for families affiliated with IU, Long said.

There will be a public open house from 4 to 7 p.m.Aug. 1 at the center, which will remain in its current location in the south wing of the Administration Building.

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