To Whom It May Concern:

I am an SSA employee with over 12 years of service. My son was in the Windy City Kids Day Care (WCK) until December 2012 when he was diagnosed with a rare eye cancer. We had hoped to place him back into WCK June 2013. He will be post-chemotherapy and with a prosthetic eye, so it is paramount he be in the same building as me. The parents of Windy City Kids Day Care have written to SSA many times in hopes to reverse the decision of the impending closure.

In the USC rules it notes, “The child care provider will give priority to federal employees for available child care services in the space.” This did not happen because the provider did not follow the rules. But where was the SSA management to oversee this? Now the people getting punished for it are the SSA employees and their children who need this day care. It would make sense to simply replace the WCK provider instead of shutting it down completely.

The advantages of keeping WCK open outweigh the costs.

A few benefits of WCK for SSA employees include: an employment retention and recruitment tool for young employee prospects, as well as an employment benefit for current employees offering affordable quality daycare IN THE SAME BUILDING as their parents. It cuts down on commute time and increases quality of life for current employees. As the OPM guide lists it, “Employees who previously could not afford licensed or regulated child care may be able to do so as a result of this authority. They should feel more comfortable with their new child care arrangements and have fewer distractions at work.”

· Attached are the testimonials of SSA employees needing WCK and experiencing difficulty gaining admission into WCK. In the past few years, SSA has hired younger people, so they are seeing more young children and need for affordable day care options.

A quote from President Obama regarding universal preschool:

“There are other areas where we can make progress, even with the sequester unresolved. I will continue to push for these initiatives. I’m going to keep pushing for high-quality preschool, for every family that wants it.”

Attached is the SSA and federal wait list for WCK as of January as well as a list of over 25 of SSA’s own employees expressing interest in WCK now or in the near future.

Attached is a picture of the two playgrounds at WCK. Note that the playground was repaired in October. This should demonstrate the cost it would take for the SSA to re-purpose this playground space.

Attached is a letter to the White House outlining the reasons cited by the SSA for closing WCK and solutions that include no additional federal investment.

The story of the closure was covered by ABC Chicago and NBC Chicago as television news stories and DNA Info Chicago also wrote an article. See http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130311/downtown/windy-city-kids-sudden-closure-leaves-parents-scrambling-for-child-care .
I urge you to reconsider the WCK closure. Now that most of the community families have left, it makes perfect sense to start fresh giving SSA employees the first opportunity to place their children into WCK.

Please consider the words of Abraham Lincoln: “The habit of focusing on the present and discounting the future leads away from thoughtful appraisal of long term consequences.”

Thank you,

Jennifer Roach

Brought to you by:

Social Security Employees/Parents to Keep Windy City Open