In addition to all the struggles student-parents face, finding quality, affordable child-care services in Carbondale is becoming more of a challenge, according to day care providers and parents.

Even small day care providers, like Robin Krummrich, who operates a facility for 12 children (including four of her own), say their waiting lists sometimes approach100 people.

For students with children, college schedules make it even more difficult to find daycare.

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It’s hard to work with college students because of their erratic schedules, Krummrich said.

Lori Longueville, facilitator of the local Illinois Child-Care Resource and Referral office, said the problem is not simply a lack of day-care centers. Affordability and the lack of part-time and night care also are factors in the difficulty of finding care.

Some may wonder why there are not more facilities since there is a steady demand for child-care. Longueville said the profit potential of child-care is not as lucrative as many other businesses because of the many expenses involved, especially with the care of infants, and this may be a reason there are not more day care centers, despite the high demand.

Krummrich said stringent reqirements from the Department of Child and Family Services, fire marshalls, health officials and the wear and tear children have on a facility all drive up expenses for child-care facilities.

It’s pretty rough when you start out, Krummrich said.

All this adds up to a problem according to some parents.

Amy LaTour, a senior in accounting from Carbondale who also works on-campus, said she had to call eight places before she found care for her 14-month-old child.

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I have no idea what I would have done, she said. I was going to start calling churches. LaTour said that the Child Resource and Referral office offered valuable guidance in her search, including providing a list of area facilities.

Rainbows End, a campus child-care provider, tries to work with student schedules by having families share a full-time care service, Rainbow’s End director, Eva Murray, said.

If a family needs care on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we try to connect them with a family that needs care on Tuesday and Thursday, Murray said.

Murray said Rainbow’s End also offers reduced rates for students.

Longueville and Krummrich both say the best idea is to get on waiting lists at day-care centers.