On February 8, 2018, UMCDC Parent Organizing delivered a letter with more than 3000 signatures advocating the preservation of the University of Minnesota Child Development Center (UMCDC). We requested 1) swift action to retain UMCDC staff, 2) a new facilities plan to meet goals of Institute the Child Development without compromising UMCDC, 3) a new administrative home for UMCDC, and 4) a plan to expand access high-quality early childhood education and care on campus. With that letter, we also presented a detailed memo laying out research supporting and rationales for preservation. Our research has continued and we have raised many questions about official statements on the decision and the rationale for closure.

We have included much of our research on this site, but have additional questions that have been submitted privately to leadership as well. Taken together, the reports we have put together strengthen our original conclusions:

• UMCDC fulfills the University mission. UMCDC is integrated with the research, teaching, and outreach mission of the University. UMCDC supports research and training across the University, not just in CE+HD, and serves as a model program for early childhood education in Minnesota and nationwide.
• Local availability of high-quality early childhood education and care is limited. Closure of UMCDC would further exacerbate a major shortage of high-quality early childhood education and care in the Twin Cities and place the University out of step with peer institutions in providing on-campus child development and care. We must expand UMCDC, not close it.
• Plans for UMCDC closure create a negative workplace climate. UMCDC’s announced closure and subsequent official comments by University officials signal a negative climate for working families and gender equity at the University.
• A stable administrative home for UMCDC is an unmet need. Throughout its 45-year history, UMCDC has suffered from a lack of a continuous administrative home, as well as from a lack of focused attention and stable funding (and fundraising) by the University. This situation has forced ad hoc groups of parents and allies to continually invest energy to preserve this resource and advocate for expansion.

We include emerging recommendations on this site as well, specifically for a new University standing committee to oversee early childhood education and care on campus. UMCDC has always been vulnerable to the shifting priorities and focus of administrators, often without consideration of its purpose and value within the University and without consultation of stakeholders. This recommendation comes out of an analysis of the UMCDC history and comparison with other universities and would bring much-needed stability and attention to this important issue.

Many of our reports double as fact-checking of information shared by University officials. The extent to which this information has been found to be inaccurate or incomplete raises significant concerns about the soundness of the decision-making process. We are extremely concerned that the University’s public comments demonstrate an institutional lack of sensitivity to the challenges faced by working families, related gender inequity in the workforce, and the importance of early childhood education.