CSU drop-in daycare has officially opened its doors

New service seeks to offer more flexible childcare options to students at Concordia

NewsBriefGenevieve Sylvestre — Published November 14, 2023 2 minutes

The new service offers a flexible childcare alternative for Concordia staff and students' parents who don’t want to enroll their child in a traditional daily daycare, but can still sometimes use an extra hand. The CSU received $150,000 from the Quebec government in 2022 to fund this pilot project. 

The drop-in daycare was originally scheduled to open in winter 2023 semester, however because of delays in finding a suitable location and to ensure more people were aware of the service, it was pushed back.

Director of the CSU daycare, nursery and drop-in centre Angela Meo said that the new service is to help parents find stability. “We’re trying to really insure that they can have that family, life, school balance and this is a service that tries and consolidates that for them,” Meo said.

The centre, located at 1800 de Maisonneuve Blvd, offers childcare in blocks of four hours, with each block costing $15. According to Meo, parents can receive a tax refund of 20 to 75 per cent depending on their income. 

The drop-in daycare is currently open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but Meo wants to expand the schedule to best fit the community's needs. “We’re very flexible. This is a new project and we really want to be able to cater to the needs of the students at Concordia with this service,” Meo said. 

The organizers are working to  add an additional time block on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the beginning of December to better accommodate the demands of their community.

Meo wants to provide a center with high-quality service to student parents. “We’re trying to offer high-quality childcare. Even though it’s only for a few hours a day, we still want to emphasize that high quality that we emphasize currently at the CSU daycare,” Meo said. “It’s really important to us.”

Parents who are interested in enrolling their children in the service can contact the drop-in daycare at info@csu.dropindaycare.com or call (514) 564-5437. 

This article originally appeared in Volume 44, Issue 6, published November 14, 2023.