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Alberta is facing a child-care crunch due to the economic boom and something has to be done before the situation becomes even more dire for parents across the province, say leaders in the field.
"We have people actually putting their names on the wait list before they get pregnant. Or they've just come back from their honeymoon," said Noreen Murphy, executive director of the non- profit Churchill Park Family Care Society in Calgary.
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"This whole issue is one I want to put on the agenda," newly minted Children's Services Minister Janis Tarchuk said. "I don't think there's an option to ignore this."
Tarchuk said Premier Ed Stelmach made child care her No. 1 priority when she took over the provincial portfolio in December.
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Each program or individual keeps their own waiting list. But based on discussions with child-care providers and parents in Calgary, there are -- at the least -- hundreds of anxious parents waiting for day care and home care spots.
Tarchuk said media reports of a shortage concern her and, when she meets with leaders from the province's Family and Community Support Services program this week, the issue will be key. While she won't discuss specifics, Tarchuk said she will not spend months talking without action.
"The child-care shortage is tied to the boom and the growth," the minister said. "We know it's an issue. And we know that it appears to be from one end of the province to the other."
Tarchuk said she is committed to carrying on with Alberta's five- point plan for child-care -- enacted by her predecessors -- which includes wage top-ups for child care workers at facilities that have become, or on their way to becoming, accredited by government.
Among other things, the government says accredited facilities are inspected, promote literacy and have staff with higher levels of training than other facilities. The minister said she believes this strategy has helped recruit and retain staff over the past couple of years.
But many in the field say some of the effects of what they acknowledge is a good accreditation program have been eroded by the severe labour shortage.
Even with the government bump, a top-level child-care worker with a two-year diploma makes around $15 an hour, give or take a few dollars.
"We have spaces that we can't fill because we can't get staff right now," said Sherrill Brown, chair of the Alberta Child Care Network, an umbrella group for child-care organizations. "It is, when you look at the broader context, still low wages compared with everybody else. And we're working on it."
Due to wage pressures, child-care is likely to get more expensive. For instance, Calgary parents taking their children to Kids & Company -- a national company that has contracts with some corporations for employee child care spots -- were hit with an average 17 per cent increase in January. Rates for preschoolers went to $1,000 a month, while rates for infants went to $1,120. It's a simple case of retaining workers, said company president Victoria Sopik. "Staff salaries are our biggest expense."
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The Alberta Liberal party will unveil its own plan for child care on Monday.
Liberal children's services critic Weslyn Mather said she has consulted with parents across the province and believes the system is in crisis. People are going to stop working to take care of their children, she said, and that will hurt the economy.
Mather said her plan includes a move toward more child-care spots and a larger, more stable workforce and helping up and coming day cares with startup costs. "There is a need for systemic change," the MLA said.
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- reprinted from the Calgary Herald