UNO Closing On-Campus Childcare Center in May | Nebraska Huskers News
UNO Child Care Center to Close After Four Decades, Leaving Families Scrambling
The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) will close its on-campus child care center on , leaving parents and staff concerned about the future. The decision, announced this week, ends a 40-year run for the center, which has served students, faculty and staff.
According to Denise Kjeldgaard, Director of Auxiliary Services at UNO, “This was an incredibly difficult decision, and one we did not make lightly.” Kjeldgaard added that the center has been a “meaningful part of our campus community” and expressed gratitude for the “dedicated staff who have cared for young learners with professionalism, compassion, and commitment.”
The closure stems from consistently low enrollment numbers. The center has been operating at just over 50% capacity in recent years and has not returned to full enrollment since early 2020. UNO officials stated that full enrollment is necessary for the center to function as a self-sustaining auxiliary service.
However, parents and staff are questioning the university’s explanation, arguing that the center provides a vital service, particularly for student parents. Kalie Frost, a student at UNO and a mother, shared her experience with WOWT News. Frost, who recently divorced, was seeking affordable childcare options while pursuing her education. “I just divorced last year and was just trying to figure out next steps, and decided to go to college to try to get into a good position for my family’s future,” she said.
Frost struggled to find affordable care and her application for a child care subsidy was pending. She discovered the UNO Child Care Center through online research using AI tools. The center assisted her in applying for a Pell grant, which covered the cost of enrollment. Now, with the center’s impending closure, Frost is facing renewed uncertainty. “It’s been hard to get enough sleep,” Frost said. “You know, just, I’ve been up, you know, with the worry of all of this.”
The UNO Child Care Center currently serves nearly 60 children. The closure comes as the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) has also closed its child care center indefinitely, highlighting a growing challenge for working parents and students across the state. However, the UNO center, unlike its counterpart at UNL, will not continue operations.
Kjeldgaard emphasized the difficulty of the decision, stating, “The UNO Child Care Center has been a meaningful part of our campus community for nearly 40 years.” The university has not yet announced any plans to replace the center with an alternative childcare solution for students and staff.