Day Care Group Plans to Propose University Policy

The Harvard Day Care Steering Committee decided last night to plan and present a comprehensive proposal for day care at Harvard.

The proposal will deal with the problems of organizing, coordinating, and financing day care, and will include provisions for children of Harvard employees as well as students and faculty.

Suggestions that the committee-which includes representatives of existing and planned day care facilities and members of the Faculty and administration-provide direct technical assistance in these areas were rejected.

"I think the time has come now that we have to address ourselves to general policy," Betsy Mahnke, one of the organizers of the proposed Memorial Church day care center, said.

Discussion of possible day care proposals centered around the problem of financing. Government grants, University subsidies, and private donations were considered, in addition to private tuition, as sources of income.

The commitment to include children of employees makes the problem of financing particularly acute. "I think it is very clear that we want to take intoconsideration the entire community and if you want employees in this, you've got to have University money," Francis ?lowe, coordinator of day care for Radcliffe, argued.

One suggestion for including community children was to diversify child care facilities to include family day care as well as group centers. This program would involve training some parents to care for a group of children in their own homes.

The Steering Committee has met twice before without determining its purpose. "I think this committee can move now." Virginia Demos, one of the committee members, said after last nights' meeting.