Child care centres seek direction, funding to reopen

YMCA is the largest child care operator in the region. It will not reopen its centres until July 6

WATERLOO REGION — Operators of local child care centres say they are waiting for more direction from the province before centres can safely reopen.

On Tuesday, the provincial government announced child care centres can reopen as early as Friday as long as they follow the proper health and safety protocols and operate at a reduced capacity, but most local child care centres say they are weeks away from being ready to reopen.

“It’s not as easy as just walking back in and opening up the doors and starting all over again, there is a lot to do,” said Peter Sweeney, chief executive officer of the YMCAs of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo, the largest operator of child care centres in the region.

“The way we need to run child care until we have a vaccine is going to look very different.” Sweeney said the YMCA and many other child care operators are eager to see a sustainable funding model put forward by the province because child care centres may need to operate at reduced levels until there is a vaccine.

The YMCA operates 16 child care centres in public school buildings across Waterloo Region. Before the pandemic 1,900 children were enrolled at the nonprofit’s centres.

Sweeney said those centres will not reopen until July 6, for several reasons.

He said staff will need time to access the centres and clean them. Region of Waterloo Public Health needs to weigh in on public health and cleaning protocols within the facilities. The province needs to provide a clear framework on which families will be prioritized to receive child care. And more funding will be needed to sustain the reconfigured child care centres.

Sweeney said child care centre operators need a better funding model if centres are going to be able to operate with a smaller children-to-educators ratio.

Child care centres are funded through parent fees, subsidies for those who need them, and grants from regional and provincial governments. Funding is currently based on the ratio of educators to children.

“The economic model is simply just not feasible,” Sweeney added.

Lori Prospero, executive director of Owl Child Care, said funding is a big issue as the private provider’s eight child-care centres make plans to reopen.

“One of the key challenges to the system is, we’re not supposed to charge parents additional money, but if we are only operating at 30 per cent, where is the funding coming from to offset those empty spaces?” she said.

Owl Child Care has not announced a date for reopening yet, Prospero said. That will be dependent on what kind of guidance and funding the province will provide.

As the economy reopens and more people head back to work, many parents are anxious to see child care centres reopen, too.

“We recognize this has been a difficult time for families,” Sweeney said.

“We are asking for patience. We need to make sure we can reopen really, really well.”

Opening safely includes making sure health and safety protocols and personal protective equipment is in place for educators and staff when they return to work, he added.

But when they do reopen, which families will be prioritized for the few spaces that will be available?

Sweeney said he does not want his staff to be put into a position to make this decision.

“We want the (province’s) guidelines to be very clear about eligibility requirements,” he said.

Staff at Owl Child Care have been surveying parents on what their needs might be, and if they are able to find alternate care, in anticipation of having lower capacity upon reopening.

The province said each room in a child care centre cannot have more than 10 people, including educators.

Prospero said these ratios pose challenges for child care centres where a preschool room can have up to 24 children.

“There are still so many unanswered questions,” Prospero said.

The Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, an advocacy group for child care providers, say a strengthened child care system could be the core of economic and social recovery from the pandemic.

It is urging the province to increase base funding to childcare centres. The group said more funds are needed to allow centres to operate with a reduced ratio of educator to children, and for additional staff for screening and cleaning protocols.

Tuesday’s provincial announcement did not include additional funding for childcare centres.

“Child care is an essential service. The funding has to be in place so two years from now, it doesn’t all fall apart,” Sweeney said.