Campus-based childcare at SF State was first approved by the CSU Board of Trustees in January 1971, and Associated Student (AS) opened its doors to student parents of preschoolers on October 10, 1972. The cost of construction and operation of the AS Lilliput Childcare Center was paid for primarily by AS funds and a pledge of $16,000 from the Jesse and Clement Stone Foundation of Chicago secured by SFSU President S.I. Hayakawa.
In 1989, to ensure that no student parent be denied access to any CSU campus or have his/her academic progress impaired because of the lack of adequate, affordable campus child care services, the CSU Board of Trustees adopted the State-wide Policy on Campus Children’s Center Programs. This policy provided the extra funding needed to expand the AS Children’s Center’s (Lilliput) hours of operation, improve the quality of service and expand care to include infants and toddlers. Experienced early childhood educators with college degrees were hired to teach in each classroom and administer the program.
In 1996, the Center moved to a temporary facility on campus while a new, state-of-the-art facility was built. Thanks to the generous support of students voting in favor of a fee referendum, the new facility met the growing demands for childcare by doubling capacity. It also provides a model site for early childhood interns and research in high-quality responsive caregiving.