By Staff
By: Samuel Chacko and Elizabeth Basile
The Isabel Patterson Child Development Center (IPCDC) received a grant for almost $3.5 million that was awarded during a ceremony on April 5 by congress member and Long Beach State alumnus Rep. Robert Garcia.
Attendees included President Jane Close Conoley, IPCDC families and other campus officials and staff. The presentation took place at the IPCDC center.
04/05/24 Long Beach Calif: Rebecca Huebner holds her daughter, Brooke, in one of the play rooms of the Isabel Patterson Child Development Center. Brooke's older sister is in the program and while Brooke is too young at three months old, her father Christopher said that she is on the waitlist. Photo credit: Elizabeth Basile
AlecSandria Colchico, the IPCDC director, said that the grant would first go toward facility repairs.
“This grant is going to help us with our facility and much needed improvements that we have not been able to do for quite some time,” Colchico said. “Like our electric units are original, so it’s just time to change those things out.”
Part-time IPCDC worker Jennifer Lopez said the grant brings new opportunities for the children and things they hope to add like field trips.
Conoley said the child care center has played an important role in removing barriers for women on campus.
“Today’s center is vital to the success of our students and has played an especially important role in removing barriers to advancement for women on our campus,” she said.
Garcia proposed this grant as part of the Community Project Funding, which was submitted to the House Committee on Appropriations, according to a press release from ASI. Conoley said Garcia managed to secure more than $9.8 million for the community project as a whole to go toward projects in other parts of Long Beach.
Associated Students, Incorporated President Mitali Jain said she went to Washington, D.C. in December 2023 to advocate for the approval of this grant.
“I was able to share the perspective of student parents like Lorraina [parenting student at CSULB] … who go through the same thing like finding child care and everything,” Jain said. “Knowing that child care in today’s world is really expensive I had that opportunity to bring these concerns from student parents and really advocated.”
04/05/24 - Long Beach, Calif: Student-parent and school psychology major Lorraina Harris spoke to attendees about the impacts of the Isabel Patterson Child Development Center on her ability to manage work and her three children. Rep. Robert Garcia brought Harris and her kids up to the stage and said he was moved by her story. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko
School psychology major Lorraina Harris said the child care center helped her balance the demands of being a parent and student.
“I had found families and a support network and other student parents that helped me get through school,” Harris said.
She said the support that she found with the IPCDC went beyond affordable child care.
“Child care is pretty expensive and so without it, there’s no way I would be able to afford … child care so that I could go to school but even just the time and space to be able to finish my studies,” Harris said.
Conoley said that the funding will benefit the student body as well as the children for generations to come.
“The new federal funding will not only help us provide a nurturing environment for young learners but also build a more equitable and empowering campus culture,” Conoley said.
