Whether elder care will pattern child care and spark the emergence of on-site centers or tuition contributions here is still to be seen.

An on-site day-care center serves as a lab for child-study classes.

It takes up 10,000 square feet in a former warehouse and is one of the oldest on-site centers in the country.

Ultimately, there will be 900 parking spaces and there are plans for an on-site day-care center for employees.

But since 1992, only two companies have set up on-site centers.

Some schools have on-site centers, while others contract out to corporate services.

Workers are taught through a combination of traditional classroom teaching at on-site centers, videoconferencing and online.

This kind of care is not as instantly popular as an on-site center, because many parents are reluctant to leave a child with a stranger.

"The on-site, corporate-sponsored center was a very new concept, and a lot of corporations saw no benefit in it," she said.

Children from the department's on-site day-care center brought in their books, too, and the Secretary will take them all on the plane with her.