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Earlier this year, the province announced it would slash early learning and child development grants to municipalities due to the federal government's termination of a bilateral agreement with Ontario. This translates into an annual loss for the County of Lanark Best Start Initiative of about $500,000.
A resolution passed at the last county council meeting called on both tiers of government to continue to fund the program beyond March of 2010.
"Earlier this year, we knew it would be reduced, but we didn't know by how much," said Mary Lou White, children's services manager for the County of Lanark. "The funding cut represents about a quarter of my entire Best Start operating budget."
The initiative is a system of services supporting families and children from birth to Grade 1 that includes affordable child care, better access to subsidies, wage subsidies for child-care staff and better access to early identification and intervention services through neighbourhood hubs.
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The subsidies affect almost 500 children in Lanark County. White said 67 per cent of the clients using the subsidies are actually employed and subsequently need child-care throughout the day; two per cent are being educated and 31 per cent are families with special needs, where either the parent or the child has a disability.
"The impact of that means there may not be funding available to assist these families, or they may face a lot of uncertainty by being put on a waiting list," she said, adding that it could also hurt families who participate in early-learning programs.
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-reprinted from Smiths Falls This Week