What is described as a critical shortage of child care spaces in Prince Rupert is being touted as a possible stumbling block to the city’s growth.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that Rupert bound migrants find frustration in their quest for daycare spaces in the city, many of whom are described as stunned at the lack of spaces available. That at least is the situation that has been presented by the operators of local Child Care centers, who recounted telephone conversations with parents from far off destinations, seeking out information about the current state of day care in Prince Rupert.
The local operators have called on the federal government to not cut funding for child care and are looking for assistance from the school board and the community in their bid to get their message across.
Suggesting that the city’s future growth may suffer is certainly an interesting approach, which if nothing else, will certainly get them the higher profile that they are looking for.
The Daily News featured their concerns and interpretations on the front page of Monday’s Daily News.
LACK OF CHILD CARE SPACES HURTS WOULD-BE MIGRANTS
People looking to move to city are stunned by lack of child care spaces
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, April 16, 2007
Pages one and three
Prince Rupert’s critical shortage of child care spaces could hamper the city’s ability to attract and retain qualified employees in the future, said advocates of Prince Rupert’s child care community.
“Having high-quality child care is of economic value to the community,” said Emily Mlieczko of the Westview Child Care Centre.
“Even at my own centre, we are getting weekly calls from families that want to move here, come to our schools but they are looking for after school care.
“We have to tell them ‘no in our community there are not enough spaces available.”
Mlieczko, Judy Riddell, of the Berry Patch Child Care Resource and Referral, and Anna Falvo, Early Childhood Education Special Needs, spoke at a school board meeting last week about the huge lack of child care spaces in the community.
Mlieczko noted Westview is getting calls from families in New York, Alberta, the Northwest Territories and the Lower Mainland wanting to know if spaces are available.
“They asked us if there is any place we can put our children and we had to say no we can’t accommodate you,” she said.
Judy Riddell said it is imperative that the school board helps lobby the federal government not to cut funding for child care, especially given that quality child care helps prepare children to enter the school system.
“Nobody really knows how many children there are after they are born until they get into the school district,” said Riddell. “And we don’t really know where they are located.”
However, in order to get a handle on the shortage, Riddell took kindergarten enrollment and the first grand and extrapolated to see where the children are living.
She then looked at the number of spaces available for different age groups in licenced child care.
Based on 2005 numbers and using a very low estimate that 40 per cent of children have working parents who need child care, in the infant toddler category, there are less than half the spaces available for the community needs.
“Based on data from across Canada, people are saying 60 to 70 per cent of women with children are working,” said Riddell.
“Even making this conservative estimate, there is a huge lack of spaces.”
The city could use at least 32 more infant toddler child care spaces in Prince Rupert today, said Riddell, noting there are only 20 spaces available.
In the one-to two-year old category, Prince Rupert has 24 spaces and needs 77 more.
For ages three to five, there are 83 spaces and 117 more are needed, for six- to 10-year olds, there are 50 spaces and 233 more are needed.
There is also a serious lack of pre-school facilities.
There are 185 spaces and 404 more are needed.
“And there is absolutely no after-hours care available here,” she said.
The board members unanimously agreed to send a letter of support for child care funding to the federal government.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that Rupert bound migrants find frustration in their quest for daycare spaces in the city, many of whom are described as stunned at the lack of spaces available. That at least is the situation that has been presented by the operators of local Child Care centers, who recounted telephone conversations with parents from far off destinations, seeking out information about the current state of day care in Prince Rupert.
The local operators have called on the federal government to not cut funding for child care and are looking for assistance from the school board and the community in their bid to get their message across.
Suggesting that the city’s future growth may suffer is certainly an interesting approach, which if nothing else, will certainly get them the higher profile that they are looking for.
The Daily News featured their concerns and interpretations on the front page of Monday’s Daily News.
LACK OF CHILD CARE SPACES HURTS WOULD-BE MIGRANTS
People looking to move to city are stunned by lack of child care spaces
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, April 16, 2007
Pages one and three
Prince Rupert’s critical shortage of child care spaces could hamper the city’s ability to attract and retain qualified employees in the future, said advocates of Prince Rupert’s child care community.
“Having high-quality child care is of economic value to the community,” said Emily Mlieczko of the Westview Child Care Centre.
“Even at my own centre, we are getting weekly calls from families that want to move here, come to our schools but they are looking for after school care.
“We have to tell them ‘no in our community there are not enough spaces available.”
Mlieczko, Judy Riddell, of the Berry Patch Child Care Resource and Referral, and Anna Falvo, Early Childhood Education Special Needs, spoke at a school board meeting last week about the huge lack of child care spaces in the community.
Mlieczko noted Westview is getting calls from families in New York, Alberta, the Northwest Territories and the Lower Mainland wanting to know if spaces are available.
“They asked us if there is any place we can put our children and we had to say no we can’t accommodate you,” she said.
Judy Riddell said it is imperative that the school board helps lobby the federal government not to cut funding for child care, especially given that quality child care helps prepare children to enter the school system.
“Nobody really knows how many children there are after they are born until they get into the school district,” said Riddell. “And we don’t really know where they are located.”
However, in order to get a handle on the shortage, Riddell took kindergarten enrollment and the first grand and extrapolated to see where the children are living.
She then looked at the number of spaces available for different age groups in licenced child care.
Based on 2005 numbers and using a very low estimate that 40 per cent of children have working parents who need child care, in the infant toddler category, there are less than half the spaces available for the community needs.
“Based on data from across Canada, people are saying 60 to 70 per cent of women with children are working,” said Riddell.
“Even making this conservative estimate, there is a huge lack of spaces.”
The city could use at least 32 more infant toddler child care spaces in Prince Rupert today, said Riddell, noting there are only 20 spaces available.
In the one-to two-year old category, Prince Rupert has 24 spaces and needs 77 more.
For ages three to five, there are 83 spaces and 117 more are needed, for six- to 10-year olds, there are 50 spaces and 233 more are needed.
There is also a serious lack of pre-school facilities.
There are 185 spaces and 404 more are needed.
“And there is absolutely no after-hours care available here,” she said.
The board members unanimously agreed to send a letter of support for child care funding to the federal government.
No comments:
Post a Comment