Next Level Funding

Thanks to two new funding sources, families enrolled in on-campus child care at Indiana University Bloomington are saving on monthly payments.

A referendum from the local school district and a grant from the state are subsidizing the cost of tuition at Campus Children's Center, Campus View Child Care Center, and Hoosier Courts Nursery School.

Christy Olson, director of IU’s Early Childhood Education Services, said she pursued the funding as part of a longer-term strategy. “We ultimately want to support equitable child care solutions for community members with young children,” Olson said. “This is a great start.”

MCCSC Pre-K

On Aug. 6, 2024, Campus Childrens Center and Hoosier Courts were approved as community partners for the Family-Centered & Community-Focused Referendum from the Monroe County School Corporation. The six-year initiative offers free or affordable high-quality Pre-K for children who were four by Aug. 1, 2024.

The initiative is open to part-time and full-time IU faculty, staff, and students and community members from the MCCSC district. Depending upon family income, stipends of $4K, $6K, or 8K will be applied to annual tuition in monthly installments. The funding will be applied over a 12-month time frame (August -July).

The partnership between MCCSC and participating community programs will be reviewed and renewed annually.

Next Level funding

The one-year, $750,000 state grant is seed-funded by Indiana’s Office of Early Childhood and Out of School Learning/Family Social Services Administration. In his 2023 Next Level Agenda, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb detailed the effort to help create or expand employer-sponsored child care benefits for Hoosier families. IU is one of just three Monroe County programs selected for the award, along with Cook and Supportive Community Innovations.

Funding covers infants through Pre-K children and lasts for one year from the official implementation date (May 2024) or until funds are exhausted.

IU employees with infants, toddlers, and children currently enrolled in on-campus early learning programs have already received a 20, 40, 60, or 80 percent discount, depending upon household income. So far, the grant is supporting tuition costs for 102 IU employee families and 120 children.

Olson said that while the two funding sources cannot be combined, she and her staff will help families determine which provides the best financial benefit for their individual circumstances. Children of IU employees who aren’t eligible for MCCSC funding (because of age or school district) remain eligible for the state funding.

Currently, Hoosier Courts is the only center with open preschool spaces (full-time or part-time). Enrollment for all three centers is rolling; families interested in Fall 2025 applications may join the waitlist online.

Early Childhood Education Services

Early Childhood Education Services is a unit of IU Campus Auxiliaries and the umbrella over IUB’s early learning centers. ECES currently receives an annual $721,000 subsidy from Campus Auxiliaries to keep early learning rates down for families. This helps cover teacher and aide salaries as well as food, repair, and cleaning costs.