A wide range of actions to expand the availability of child care to working parents has been suggested by two study groups of the Greater Glendale Child Care Council.
The non-government study groups identified a myriad things that employers and the Glendale Chamber of Commerce could do to encourage development of accessible, affordable and quality day care.
The leading recommendation was creation of a full-time child-care coordinator in the community. But the organization's cautiously worded document did not specifically recommend that the position be part of the Glendale municipal government.
"That would have to evolve from the grass roots here in Glendale," Pam Desario, a member of the Child Care Council, said in an interview. "We don't want to push too hard."
The cities of Los Angeles, Pasadena, Burbank and Santa Monica all have child-care coordinators. They offer guidance and encouragement to employers, developers and parents seeking to improve child-care options, Desario said. They pursue state, local and federal grants for child care and serve as liaisons between people trying to set up child-care centers and city licensing, zoning and fire officials.
Former school board President Jane Whitaker, who also is president of the Child Care Council, said she was uncertain whether the City Council would fund such a position.
In describing the need for child care, Whitaker cited a study last year at Glendale Community College that found local centers could accommodate fewer than 4,000 children, although the city has an estimated 14,000 children whose parents work. Even when researchers factored in relatives and unlicensed baby-sitters, they calculated that 5,500 children would soon be without care unless many centers are built or expanded.
The college study, done at the request of the Child Care Council, said child-care needs had reached a crisis level in Glendale.
The council's study groups said a child-care coordinator could:
* Write a clear checklist to help commercial developers and child-care directors comply with safety and planning requirements.
* Encourage developers and others to build more child-care centers and expand existing ones by holding seminars on licensing and quality indicators.
* Promote child-care benefits at work.
They recommended that the city consider giving preference or waiving fees for developers that include child-care services in their projects.
