ASA Child Care

[Soc Moms]

A colleague and I were wondering what the ASA child care is like. Has anyone used it (or know of a friend who has) who could share their experiences? E.g., where is it usually, what type of security is there, what are the qualifications of the child care providers, do they provide meals, etc. Thanks!

[runner]

Don't know all the details you're looking for, but my colleagues have been very happy with it in the past.

[Soc Moms]

thanks runner!

[company?]

Is there a specific company hired by the ASA for each conference? That's what happens with APSA, which uses the same childcare company for each of their conferences regardless of location. That childcare company then hires local early childcare teachers and fly a few in. I used it once (the APSA one) and was not impressed. It was chaotic because it was a group of people who don't necessarily normally work together and didn't have a good system going.

[following]

Im following the thread because Im interested too. The ASA website said they "again" used a company called KiddieCorp for the meetings this year but from a quick glance at their website it looks like they are more San Fran based. I cant find info re: Chicago 2015 or answers to any of the OPs more substantive questions though. I'm also wondering what is the cost?

[ASA rep]

ASA has subsidized child care for attendees since the 1970s. They use a company called Kiddie Corp every year -- I've used it as a parent attendee and researched it for another organization. The child care is licensed, insured, workers have background checks, comes with safety requirements with respect to the hotel (must be on a low floor, near an exit, ratios that meet requirements, etc, etc). The cost to parents is about $55 a day (they just raised it a bit for the first time in many years) and the costs are largely subsidized by the ASA. You'll find young kids and infants in one large room and older kids in another, games, books, videos, etc available and, in my experience, the kids have fun. You can pop in between your meetings and they also provide a room for nursing mothers. In short, you should feel comfortable using it and, having compared what ASA does with other orgs, we should all be pretty grateful for what they provide.

[Soc Moms]

Thank you ASA rep!!

[minor detail]

label all the stuff you leave there! Lots of people come and go, and items can be taken by mistake. I once had to spend a few hours of precious conference time shopping for a replacement for an item mistakenly taken by another parent.

[Soc Moms]

thanks minor detail!