UNI Family

My husband and I have both been employed full-time at UNI for 4 years. Recently, my husband started working on his Ed.D. at UNI part-time too. We have a 2-year old daughter and a baby due to arrive in 8 weeks. We learned on Friday that we were one of the families slated to be cut. As many of you have experienced, being pregnant is often an emotional rollar-coaster anyway, so you may be able to imagine my mental state that evening.

When we were pregnant with our first child, I called over 25 people/places in Cedar Falls, including the CDC, before I found an opening and that was with 7 months to try. We remained on the waiting list at the CDC for our first child and asked to be added to the infant wait list this year. In Feb 2011, our daughter started at the CDC and our baby was scheduled to begin in August. With only 8 weeks until our infant arrives, we have no back-up plan for child care and have no family or support system that lives in Cedar Falls. Friday evening my husband and I discussed a lot of options including if one of us quit our job at UNI to care for the children. This would have huge financial impact for our family but would also probably mean a future move from Cedar Falls because it would be unlikely that we would be hired back to our respective departments. My husband and I are devoted employees, both traveling for our positions and dedicating more than an average 40-hour work week to our careers. We have come to value to staff and students at the CDC as our extended family knowing that they care for and love our child as if she were their own.

Over the weekend we learned that there might be hope for our situation because my husband is attending classes at UNI so we may have a CDC spot for next year. This is bittersweet because it would help our situation but it means another family will be told their child cannot attend. I am still extremely nervous and very upset about the situation. I'm sure on Monday I will start calling to find out our options at other locations although I am very doubtful I will find something for an infant on such short notice. I hope the UNI community can come together to find an solution that will allow all families to continue at the CDC and expand to serve more families on the waiting list.

Jennifer Garrett, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Assistant Professor of Communication Sciences & Disorders
University of Northern Iowa