Cerritos College received $ 782,000 in state funding from Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco on Tuesday, September 26, to support the expansion of Cerritos College’s Norwalk Child Development Center (CDC).
The funding is essential to increase the existing capacity of the Child Development Center. The existing facility can only serve about 19 percent of the current demand; in fact, the waitlist to enroll includes more than 500 families. An expanded CDC will enable Cerritos College to increase its offerings of world-class childcare services, hands-on student training, and access to education to better serve the community.
Inadequate access to affordable and quality childcare is one of the barriers to education cited most often by student parents. According to a report by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, providing childcare to students is linked to higher success and faster time to completion.
“Today, I stand before you to celebrate a remarkable institution that serves as a beacon of hope, learning, and support for the community,” said Assemblymember Pacheco, a proud alumna of the College. “The Cerritos College Child Development Center is an invaluable resource that nurtures the growth and development of our youngest learners while offering support to families and individuals alike. I hope this funding helps address the community’s high demand for childcare services and education.”
“We truly appreciate Assemblymember Pacheco’s support of the Child Development Center,” said Cerritos College President/Superintendent Dr. Jose Fierro. “The CDC is a laboratory school that trains teachers in the field of Early Childhood Education while simultaneously providing quality childcare to the communities we serve. An expanded facility will help us increase the CDC’s offerings to children with more flexible formats.”
