Funding helps local childcare facilities

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Licensed childcare – representing most programs caring for more than seven children – in Alberta is getting a boost through funding from the federal and provincial governments.

On Sept. 22, the federal government announced that it was providing $72 million to Alberta’s childcare sector through the Safe Restart Agreement. Licensed programs will receive payments ($200 per approved space in addition to $2,500 per program) distributed on Oct. 15 and Nov. 15. 

This funding supplements $15 million in funding ($109 per licensed space) from the province provided in September.

With many local childcare operators shutting down in mid-March, parents who had already paid for the month were given a half-month credit for September, when many programs restarted, explained Paula Beekman, owner and operator of NEXT Kids Inc., which provides care to 165 children at two facilities located in Strathmore and Calgary.

“For the month of September, we’ve run on half price, because the people who have returned had credits,” she said. “I think (the funding) is playing catch up; the government is trying to fill the void where we have lost income, because they need daycares that are licensed to stay open.”

New cleaning requirements are extensive and put pressure on staff. “If the child touches something, we’re watching it; we are constantly cleaning,” said Beekman. “If you are supervising children engaged in activity it is very hard to focus on cleaning as well.”

The Busy Bee Preschool Association, which operates the Busy Bee Preschool and Carseland Before and After School Program within Carseland School, is looking at hiring additional cleaning staff to meet these cleaning requirements, said Brittney Rattray, board president.

“The funding is going to go 100 per cent towards the cleaning and custodial staff,” said Rattray. “Any extra that’s left over we’ll probably use for still more cleaning, but maybe in a different form; we might purchase a dishwasher to wash all the kids’ water bottles and sanitize the toys.”

The added cleaning resulted in extra costs, at least initially, said Kara Small, who operates the Toddle Inn Day Care Society in Strathmore. “There were some extra costs involved with getting the proper personal protective equipment, hand sanitizer, gloves – everything like that,” she said. “There were a few things that over that period were a little more costly.”

Both Small and Beekman said enrollment remains down, to a quarter and half of their capacity, respectively, resulting in lowered revenue. Rattray said enrollment at her facility is slightly lower than typical but should increase as more parents decide to return their kids to school.

The funding will allow Erin Jensen, owner of County Kids Childcare in Standard, to continue to better compensate her staff, she said.

“I think that having this funding will really help to boost morale,” said Jensen. “I’ve been taking full advantage of the wage subsidies and everything that I possibly can, and I gave my staff a raise already this year, because they brought back the provincial wage subsidy for childcare operators.”

Funding childcare is a long-term investment in children, added Jensen. “It’s early intervention, like when you invest in primary health care so that you don’t end up with a bunch of sick people on the back end,” she said. “That’s exactly what we do in early childhood. It’s so much more than ABCs; it’s a lot of socio-emotional development that kids need to survive in life.

“The funding is going to help us do that much better.”