EXCERPTS:
A report on the future of Peel's childcare centres headed to Council later this month is causing a stir with residents who fear the Region plans to close its facilities.
The report, which won't officially be made public until at least Jan. 20, is the culmination of a review on the province's full-day kindergarten initiative and how it will impact the Region's childcare program.
The Region operates 12 childcare centres and the concern is once full-day kindergarten kicks in completely in 2014, demand for spaces, particularly for children ages four and five, will drop off considerably and force Peel to close its centres.
Council won't address the report until Jan. 26, but that hasn't stopped some Peel parents from sounding alarm bells.
Angela Cribb, whose two-year-old daughter is enrolled in a Region Learn.Play.Care center in Streetsville, argues closures will leave many Peel families in the lurch. Although many four and five year olds are headed to full day kindergarten, she argued there are still a considerable number of youngsters in Peel that would benefit from childcare services.
Cribb is hoping to draw the public's attention to the issue in anticipation of the Jan. 26 Council meeting.
"This will affect close to 800 families and those with children still too young to enter the school system will be forced to find new child-care," Cribb said. "These centers need to remain open and the public needs to be notified of this upcoming meeting, and people need to start calling their local councillors to voice their concerns."
Janet Menard, Peel's commissioner of human services, didn't speak to specific contents of the report except to say the document attempts to highlight the best "possible role the Region can play in supporting the system."
Full-day kindergarten has been phased in over the last couple of years and will be instituted across the board in 2014.
Menard said enrollment in Peel's childcare centres has declined steadily since Ontario first started implementing full-day kindergarten.
"With four and five year olds going to full day kindergarten, it has created an impact on the child-care system," Menard said. "As more four and five year olds move (into kindergarten) there is lesser need for us to accommodate them in the spaces that exist. In essence, what this is creating is some supply and demand issues."
Menard said there is definitely a need locally for spaces for younger children (aged 0 to 3.8) but the spaces in Peel have been "configured" mainly to support older children. The report, in part, attempts to address that.
Cribb said the closure of centres would come as a huge blow to families who rely on childcare services provided by Peel.
The Region charges less compared to private ventures and, in her view, provides superior care.
"These centers are invaluable to the community and I couldn't possibly see my daughter going anywhere else," Cribb continued. "Does the community not have a responsibility to provide reasonably priced child-care to its residents? The Learn.Play.Care centers are $10 cheaper per day than most private centers. That's $50 per week, $200 per month and more than $2,400 cheaper per year. We're still paying over $10,000 per year for daycare, but I am very happy that we're saving $2,400 versus going to private care."
-reprinted from the Brampton Guardian