Governor’s wife calls for child-research institute at UNLV

Friday, May 1, 1998 | 10 a.m.

FALLON -- A plan by the state's first lady to create a research institute for children at UNLV was endorsed unanimously by the board of regents of the University and Community Colleges of Nevada Thursday.

"There is no statewide organization to speak for children," Sandy Miller told the board.

UNLV President Carol Harter said the institute could be started with about $195,000 and could begin next May. It also would be able to use research gathered from other centers across the campus.

At present, Miller said there's no reliable data on children in the stae. For instance, when the state was trying to determine how many uninsured children there were in Nevada, the estimates ranged from 25,000 to 85,000.

She noted the federal government also makes changes in public policy and there's no one to monitor these. She said the federal government may set up a program for child care with the hours ranging from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

"That wouldn't represent Nevada's needs," she noted. There should be child care from midnight to 8 a.m., she said in a state that has a 24-hour culture.

While there are many child advocates in Nevada, there is "no centralized location to come together and make our voices heard," she said.

Miller hopes to get money to finance pilot projects for children.

The money for the institute will come from private donations and grants plus some university funds, Harter said. "We would like to create an endowment to ensure the future funding."

Miller also asked the regents to set aside money from its $2.6 million special reading program for administration. The program sends volunteer students from the universities and community colleges into the elementary schools to help children to read and give them special instruction.

She called the reading program the "most visionary project in the United States" and other states are just catching on. But she said the university officials who administer this program have other duties.

She asked the regents, and they agreed, that 7-9 percent of the grant should be set aside for administration.