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SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Police Department broke ground Thursday on the nation’s first childcare center for law enforcement personnel. City officials said the historic project aims to provide better childcare options for police officers while customizing services to their unique needs.
The City of San Diego said the novel program is led by the San Diego Police Officers Association with support from San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, FOX 5 San Diego reported.
“This first-of-its-kind childcare facility is part of our comprehensive effort to ensure SDPD is a great department to work for,” Gloria noted. “With careers in law enforcement being more demanding than ever, this childcare center will help alleviate our officers’ childcare challenges so they can focus on keeping San Diego one of the safest big cities in America.”
Specifically, police officers face challenges due to round the clock schedules along with no-notice overtime demands. As a result, the city said this childcare facility will offer SDPD personnel extended hours to accommodate non-conforming work schedules at reduced market rates of 50% less than they might pay elsewhere. The discounts will be made possible through a public-private partnership, according to the news outlet.
“The often-uncertain schedules of police officers make it a challenge to coordinate daycare under the traditional model,” SDPD Chief David Nisleit said. “We are excited to bring this center to fruition as it will ease the burden of childcare to our officers. SDPD is proud to be pioneering this effort and paving the way for other law enforcement agencies to do the same.”
According to city officials, law enforcement agencies across the country have reached out to San Diego since the first announcement regarding the center was made in 2022. Other jurisdictions are looking for guidance to develop their own version of a childcare model, FOX 5 reported.
The project is funded for three years, according to city officials. It includes a $3 million investment from state grants that was allocated in the Fiscal Year 2022 budget, along with additional grants.
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