Before I could walk, UCLA was home for me. Every day, my parents dropped me off at the Fernald Child Development Center before they went to work at UCLA. I would hug my parents goodbye, knowing that they were close to me.

The Fernald Center fostered a nurturing community, allowing me to create lasting friendships and connections. Those relationships have stayed with me for nearly two decades and have shaped who I am today.

In addition to the initial closure of the Fernald Center in 2025, UCLA announced in August that it would close its Early Care and Education Centers, which include the University Village Center and the Krieger Center, citing a growing budget deficit. The program faced controversy in recent years after the arrest of Christopher Rodriguez, who taught at ECE for more than two decades and was convicted of nine charges – including willful cruelty to a child and sexual battery against a minor – in April 2025.

By making this decision, UCLA is abandoning an entire community that relies on ECE, which has been around since the 1970s.

[Related: UCLA childcare program, which faced 2024 sex abuse case, to close amid budget deficit]

UCLA is supposed to provide a nurturing community for kids, faculty and staff, yet the closure of the ECE program directly counters this goal. It sends a concerning message – one of callousness and irresolution – from a school that claims True Bruin Values of integrity, excellence and belonging.

“It’s unbelievably cruel and so disruptive and shows a real lack of commitment to the welfare of women, single parents, student parents, staff parents,” said Michael Chwe, a political science professor. “It’s just unthinkable, really, that in this day and age, something like this can happen.”

The ECE program allows for someone to be both a faculty member and a parent to the best of their ability. It is a necessity that UCLA offer childcare for faculty, staff and students.

The shutdown of these childcare centers sends a strong message of apathy to UCLA students and faculty that have young children, said Tirzah Blanche, a Luskin School of Public Affairs alumnus and former ECE parent.

All UC campuses have childcare programs that provide security for community members with children. But come June 30, 2027, UCLA will not.

UCLA closing its childcare centers without any guarantee of other options in West LA is an enormous failure for the community members that rely on ECE for its proximity to their jobs. While the university says it’s providing other childcare options for parents, those resources are disorganized.

Evyn Gandhi, an associate professor of Asian American Studies, said the outside organizations UCLA provided have been frustrating. She added that she spent time searching for affordable childcare centers in the area, all for UCLA to confirm what she already knows: There are few outside options for infant care near the university.

The ECE program also gives some families subsidies, allowing them to pay little to nothing for childcare. The few childcare centers in the UCLA area do not take this subsidy, adding more financial barriers for UCLA parents.

The removal of childcare services puts into question UCLA’s ability to prioritize people’s lives outside of their jobs.

“As a faculty member, I can’t contribute to the core mission of UCLA – of research, teaching and public service – unless I have a safe and reliable and high-quality childcare facility where I can leave my children during the day,” Gandhi said.

UCLA’s budget deficit can result in consolidated spending on certain programs. But childcare should not be the one to go.

UCLA already spent money implementing abuse-prevention accreditation for childcare center staff following Christopher Rodriguez’s arrest. The centers have shown they are trying to provide safer, more trustworthy childcare for UCLA families.

Suddenly cutting the ECE program while giving parents unsatisfactory reasoning and little time to seek out other options is thoughtless. The administration needs to prioritize the parents and children who belong to the UCLA community.

The Truin Bruin Value of belonging says UCLA is supposed to address harm by taking accountability, prioritizing care for people affected and committing to repair damages.

Shutting down the ECE program does not erase what happened. Instead, it pushes a community of people aside when they are most vulnerable.