Concerns remain over $10/day daycare
Posted Jul 26, 2022 07:34:00 PM.
As the cost of about everything else continues to climb, many parents may be looking longingly at the prospect of paying less for daycare.
The issue then becomes whether or not your kid's daycare is going to sign onto that pledge and when given the deadline to do so is only a little over a month away.
Industry insiders though say the process itself is not a quick-and-easy one and there are also still a number of concerns.
For parents though, the easiest solution is simply to pick up the phone.
“Find out if your childcare provider is eligible to opt-in and then are they going to opt-in,” said Kristine Parsons, Director of Operations, RisingOaks Early Learning. “Then hold tight, September 1st is coming up and those fee reduction reimbursements, we hope that families may see those early this fall.”
So while it has been reported only one local childcare operator had signed onto the $10/day pledge as of earlier this week, Parsons said more will be doing so.
She also said there are still some concerns being raised within the industry itself — especially around funding, worker wages, and staffing shortages.
“We are calling it a workforce crisis and we are not the only profession facing a workforce crisis however we provide early-learning and childcare, we are part of the education system, but we also provide care for children while their parents are at work,” Parsons said, suggesting the economic dominoes start falling from there.
“And if we're not able to provide safe and quality care then we have to have early closures, we've had full program closures this summer because we just don't have the qualified staff to operate,” she said.
Childcare, as is the case for a number of industries, is facing staffing shortages linked to workers being off sick or isolating due to COVID-19 but experts have also said, similar to the healthcare sector, the staffing crisis does pre-date the pandemic.
“There is a systemic, overarching disregard for the profession,” said Parsons.
“The profession is regulated, we have a College of Early Childhood Educators,” she said. “Our team, they're educated, they pay a membership, their regulated by the College of ECE not unlike nurses, and doctors, and chiropractors — so [daycares] are not simply a place to drop your child off for care so you can go to work, we're part of the education system.”
Parsons said that will also become more and more of an issue when it comes to expanding access to childcare; the province is also meant to be creating some 86,000 more childcare spaces by 2026.
“Do I hope that we garner the attention and respect as early childhood educators to interest individuals in getting their education and joining this profession — I truly hope that,” said Parsons. “I want to paint a picture of a profession that is valuable, it is rewarding every day, and I think we need to enhance the professional pay and, you know, if we build it let's hope that they will come.”
RisingOaks did also pen a letter to the Education Minister earlier this month raising these and other concerns. It is available below.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce also provided the following statement to CityNews 570:
“Our government delivered a deal that cuts costs for families with billions more in funding, additional child care spaces, and a longer agreement that protects parental choice. We recognize the tireless dedication of child care staff, which is why we are working to recruit and ultimately retain thousands of new workers, to ensure children receive the high quality programming they deserve. Ontario has a plan to hire thousands more workers to ensure child care is both accessible in all regions of Ontario and affordable for parents.”
