More subsidized child-care spaces for city
YMCA TO OPEN ‘PILOT PROJECT’ IN LETHBRIDGE CENTRE
Lethbridge parents will gain 82 subsidized child-care spaces in September, as the Alberta government adds 6,000 spaces to its $25-per-day program.
The Lethbridge YMCA will open a “pilot project” in the Lethbridge Centre, officials say, and also plans to add 62 westside spaces next year. But it’s not known if those would be subsidized.
“The opportunity to offer affordable child care helps us create the impact we want to have in the community, particularly to advance positive child, youth and family development,” said Jennifer Petracek-Kolb, chief executive officer of the Y in Lethbridge.
“We thank the province for entrusting our charity with this additional investment to support families through child care that is high quality, affordable and accessible.”
On Wednesday, Premier Rachel Notley announced 100 child-care facilities will be added to the joint federal-provincial program, in addition to the 22 already operating.
“By creating affordable child-care spaces, we’re helping thousands of families keep more money in their pockets,” she said.
The program expansion will save Alberta families an average of $425 per month, officials say, while allowing about 1,400 parents to return to the workforce. It will also create about 400 new child-care jobs.
The expansion includes 29 current YMCA child-care centres in the province, joining the list of facilities supported through Alberta Early Learning and Child Care Centres funding.
The largest non-profit child-care provider in Canada, the YMCA has created the “Playing to Learn” curriculum for children from infancy to age six. The organization describes it as “a milestone in early learning pedagogy, establishing play as essential to school readiness and healthy social and cognitive development of all children.”
The new facility, to be built on the second floor of the Lethbridge Centre, will cost $1 million. That sum, officials say, will be covered by provincial pilot project funding “and by our generous donors to the YMCA Community Campaign.”
Top priority for the 82 openings, they say, will go to children of YMCA staff and members, followed by siblings of children enrolled — after the service opens. Applications from the general public will be wait-listed, the organization’s website says.
As well, it says, “A certain portion of spaces have been assigned to children of families that are newcomers to Canada.”
The downtown centre will employ 12 certified staff members, the Y says.
Their new facility, for youngsters from 19 months up to school age, will provide “multiple rooms for toddlers, preschool-aged children and kindergarten-aged children,” along with child-sized washroom facilities.
“All program rooms will have easy access to a fully secured outdoor playspace,” officials say, and the centre will also provide parking for parents dropping off or picking up their children.