'U' provides child care to employees

Many working parents are forced to skip a day of work to stay home with a sick child - but they are not University employees.

Kids Kare at Home now gives University employees the option of leaving a sick child at home with a trained caretaker provided by the University.

Since the beginning of January, the University's Family Care Resources Program has directed the Kids Kare pilot program. The program has contracted the agency Friends Who Care to provide the caregivers.

"Friends Who Care is a Medicare- certified home health agency with a home office in Southfield and branches across the state," said Maxine Jones, an administrator at Friends Who Care.

Friends Who Care screen the Kids Kare workers. The University also provides workers with additional training in child development and pediatric illness.

The cost of the service is $14 per hour with a minimum usage of a four- hour time block. The University foots the bill for the first 16 hours used by a family. After the initial 16 hours, the family must pay the full $14.

Often times regular daycare providers refuse to tend to sick children, and some parents say they cannot afford to take a day off.

Leslie de Pietro, director of the Family Care Resources Program, said there was high demand shown by parent employees in focus groups that were conducted by the Resources Program and Child Care Task Force.

"The response I have had so far has been overwhelmingly positive," de Pietro said.

About 30 employees have used Kids Kare, totaling almost 200 hours of service as a group.

Ellen Abramson, the School of Business Administration's associate director of development, is a working mother who has already taken advantage of the service.

Abramson said she and her husband have struggled to find care options during the day when their two children are sick.

"When you don't have grandmas and other relatives in the area, there are no options," Abramson said. "Neighbors are working. Friends have their own kids. This is finally an option."

Abramson said parents need not be concerned about having a stranger in their home with their children.

Kids Kare held an open meeting in the Michigan Union in January to give parents a chance to meet the caregivers. The program directors said they hoped this would make parents feel more comfortable.

"The caregivers and the program totally exceeded my expectations," Abramson said. "I felt like these people weren't strangers. It was not hard for me to let these people care for my children."

De Pietro and Abramson both said they are hopeful that Kids Kare will continue to be successful with the help of publicity.

"People are interested, but they are cautious until they hear about the program," Abramson said. "Word of mouth is the best way to promote anything."

De Pietro said she would like to see the program eventually made available to others members of the University community, including University students and employees at the Dearborn and Flint campuses.

"It is our top priority to eventually include students," de Pietro said.

02-19-98