Demand to become licensed facilities not practical, parent-run child-care programs say
Before- and after-school programs may be replaced as school division seeks proposals
Two parent-run child-care programs operating out of Winnipeg schools say a demand to become licensed facilities is not practical and requirements have been poorly communicated.
The LaV Care program at Ecole Laverendrye School in the Earl Grey neighbourhood offers before- and after-school programs, as well as half-day daycare for nursery and kindergarten students and lunch hour programming.
The program has been run by a group of parent volunteers for several years, but in December of 2019 the division told them it needed to become a provincially-licensed facility.
"It's been a series of moving targets and we're doing our best to hit those targets," said Tina Kelly, chair of LaV Care community programs.
"[E]very time we meet one of their requirements or the root cause behind it, there's a new obstacle or new barrier put in its place," she said.
Kelly said LaV Care has a licensing exemption from the province, and doesn't understand the reasons behind the changes. She says parents want to keep the grassroots program the way it is.
"We really care about this program," said Kelly.
2nd program says they were misled
Grosvenor School also has a parent-run program called ABC Care, which offers before- and after-school care.
Maureen Winnicki Lyons, a co-chair with ABC, says they were also told their program needed to be licensed back in Dec. 2019, but says when concerns were raised about the process, they were told the new requirements wouldn't apply to them.
"So that's where we left it, so we tried, we reached out, and then we were left with the impression pretty specifically that it didn't apply to us and we shouldn't have to worry about it," said Winnicki Lyons.
Nearly a year went by before they were contacted again by division officials, she said, this time wondering why they had not yet been licensed.
"If we had known more than a year ago that we needed to license instead of being told not to worry about it, we would have taken measures to see that happen," said Winnicki Lyons.
Last month the division put out a request for proposals to find a new provider to replace both child-care programs, which came as a shock to both programs.
"It feels like a real insult to all of the people who have invested tens of thousands of hours in volunteer time to keep it operational," said Winnicki Lyons.
Programs given 18 months to comply, division says
The Winnipeg School Division says they have been clear about the licensing requirement from the start and says the programs were given more than enough time to undergo the process.
"The group was given 18 months to make the change, so that's not really all of a sudden, they were informed and then given a very large window of time," said Radean Carter, a spokesperson for the Winnipeg School Division.
The licensing was supposed to be in place by the end of June, the division said.
Carter said the division conducted a review of its programs in 2019 and only the two programs were identified as being unlicensed.
"This is really for the safety and security of the children and it's also a liability for the school division that we really just can't have one school where they have a different format than everyone of our other schools where we have equity," she said.
WATCH | Demand to become licensed facilities not practical:
"We've gotten up to over 12 months with no action and that has precipitated the school division having to move forward doing an RFP."
The division said licensed operations provide assurances that minimum standards are being met in areas of staff qualifications, space, health and safety, nutrition and behaviour management.
The Manitoba government says this decision was made at the divisional level and is not a provincial requirement.
"The Manitoba government is supportive of the LaV Care program continuing to operate under exempt status, as it has provided an option of child care that has successfully met the school community's needs for many years," a spokesperson with Manitoba Families said in an email.
"The Manitoba government is focused on supporting more child-care options to ensure that community needs are met."
The province says it's committed to working with LaV Care and the division to find a solution.
The exemption status for the program hasn't changed, but the province says school divisions have the authority to decide whether to allow an exempt or licensed child-care program to operate at a school and to choose its operator.
Parents worry about risk to spaces, added costs
The ABC program is currently trying to meet the licensing requirements and will put in a bid for the proposal, but says the process is onerous for the volunteers who run the program.
Both groups expressed concerns about the increased costs and added hours needed to go through the licensing process. The programs are self-funded, and don't receive any subsidies from the province.
Kelly says the changes are unnecessary and could end up costing parents more and putting spaces at risk.
"There's real risks to families in the program, you can probably expect to lose about half of your before- and after-school age spaces ... and that fees would be increasing by at least 30 per cent," said Kelly.
Carter said there is still time for the programs to meet the requirements and says they don't foresee any impacts on child-care spaces.
"We don't anticipate that there's going to be any spaces lost once it goes to being a properly licensed daycare, I think the benefits outweigh any concerns that may be raised," said Carter.