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Childcare Network: linking people, resources by Cindy Abole Public Relations Today’s working women strive for balance when it comes to advancing their careers and providing the best for their family. But one area working moms struggle with is finding good, reliable child care.      The challenge is the same for career and working moms at MUSC. That’s why junior faculty members and moms Ashli Sheidow, Ph.D., and Alyssa Rheingold, Ph.D., teamed up to coordinate information and organize ways to connect people with childcare services through the MUSC Women Scholars Program and the new MUSC Childcare Network.   “We wanted to develop a resource or venue that will help fellow employees seek adequate childcare or day care opportunities that are most likely to fit their needs,” said Sheidow, assistant professor with the Family Services Research Center in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.   Their idea was to create a foundational, onsite infrastructure or clearing house for childcare information and resources and to provide a way for faculty, staff and students to communicate about childcare opportunities. They enlisted the guidance and expertise of computer specialists Mary Mauldin, Ed.D., and Ben Gilbertson from MUSC Library’s Educational Technology Lab.   “The goal was to create a useful, functional Web page that organizers can progressively build upon,” said Gilbertson. “It gives users a starting point that has lots of possibilities.”   The site provides basic information about childcare contacts throughout the Tri-county, and will eventually include a listing of local childcare facilities and in-home day cares. The site lists other related resources including the Trident United Way Child Care Resource and Referral Service and its Parent Booklet, which teaches parents how to evaluate childcare opportunities. A network forum was created in a bulletin board format, providing a site for classifieds relating to child care.   MUSC faculty, staff and students with an MUSC Network Account (MNA) can log in to the site and explore or post in one of five categories, from nanny listings and nanny sharing requests to in-home group day care providers. Since August, the Web site registered more than 100 users. The site provides an important disclaimer that reminds users that the network is for informational purposes only and does not endorse listings found on the site.   “What we provide is a chance for families to advertise their needs for in-home day care and shared child care,” Sheidow said. “People are willing to pay well for good quality child care. It’s what I’m doing right now for my children. It’s that important to me.”   The mother of a son, age 6, and daughter, age 2, Sheidow has always been cognizant of child care issues in the workplace. Relocating from the University of Illinois-Chicago with a sound on-site childcare program to Charleston presented some immediate challenges for Sheidow. Prior to beginning her clinical psychology internship, Sheidow spent her first two  months in Charleston seeking adequate day care for her son. After her child was shuttled in and out of several in-home daycare programs, she was able to secure shared nanny services.   For Sheidow, the struggle was the ongoing search for finding reliable, quality day care for her children. She went through a similar struggle situating care for her second child.   “Like other personal or family issues, the act of worrying about child care is stressful and can hinder a person’s focus and job,” Sheidow said, who like many other women professionals chose to return quickly back to work. Sheidow returned to preserve her research funding track as a junior faculty member. “It’s tough having to balance personal and professional choices.”        Sheidow noted that a group at MUSC has been working to sponsor a childcare program and such an idea would be optimal for women like her. She and Rheingold developed the childcare network as a current resource.   The childcare network is sponsored by the MUSC Women Scholars Program, a group created last fall composed of MUSC female faculty committed to promoting women professionals on campus and addressing workplace issues and career planning efforts. Organizers hope the network will complement the institution’s existing plans to support child care services for employees and staff.   For now, Sheidow and Rheingold hope their collaboration will help others seeking information and  looking for help. They invite feedback from the MUSC family on this endeavor.   Visit the MUSC Childcare Network at http://www.musc.edu/childcare/.     Friday, Sept. 23, 2005 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.