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Child-Care Centres to Start Posting Serious Occurrence Reports
Source: Toronto Star, August 25 2011
Excerpt: "Education Minister Leona Dombrowsky told the Star on Wednesday all regulated child-care facilities have their inspection reports posted online. However, they are still working out privacy concerns and logistics regarding posting serious incidents online…. Andrea Calver, the coordinator for the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, called the minister’s announcement non-news at a time when the sector is struggling to keep centres open. "To hear there was an announcement on serious occurrences was so disappointing given the seriousness of the funding crisis," she said. “It is obvious if there is a serious occurrence it should be posted at the centre and on a website.""
The Education of Tim Hudak on Full-Day K
Source: Toronto Star, August 24 2011
Excerpt: "Changebook, the Tory campaign platform, tells the story of the party’s surprising change of heart on full-day kindergarten. Full-day K, as it is widely known, once loomed as a major flashpoint in the coming campaign. But ahead of the Oct. 6 vote, the issue has largely been neutralized by the Tories. Changebook won't change the program, according to Page 21 of the glossy, 34-page guide: "We will implement full-day kindergarten for all schools.""
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PEI: Shortage of Infant Daycare Spaces
Source: The Guardian (PEI), August 24 2011
Excerpt: "Despite government’s creation of more infant daycare spaces and a new provincial waiting list registry for these spots, many parents returning to work face an acute shortage of licensed infant spaces and much confusion regarding waiting lists. Last year, the province launched a new preschool strategy that promised sweeping changes to the early learning system on P.E.I…. That brings the total number if infant spaces in licensed centres on P.E.I. to 210 -- not close to a high enough number for parents looking for spots. Government also launched a provincial child-care registry to allow parents to get detailed information about centres and put their child's name on waiting lists for those much-coveted spaces. It went live online last spring."
Childcare Centre Operator Edleun Shrinks Q2 Loss
Source: Winnipeg Free Press, August 24 2011
Excerpt: "Childcare centre operator Edleun Group, Inc. (TSXV:EDU) shrank its second-quarter net loss as it pulled in nearly five times higher revenue due to higher occupancy levels, mainly in Calgary. The company reported a net loss of $541,000 in the second quarter, compared to loss of $1.7 million in the same quarter last year. Revenue was up to $4 million, up from $867,000 as the Alberta company built its business, mainly through acquisitions."
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Full Day Kindergarten Shows Results
Source: Hinton Parklander (AB), August 22, 2011
Excerpt: "As the Grande Yellowhead Public School Division (GYPSD) heads into its fifth year of full-day kindergarten, administrators are happy to look back at statistics showing consistent progress with students every year…. Since it's inception in 2007, the full-day kindergarten program has seen students score between 60 and 65 per cent on average in September, with average scores rising to between 78 and 81 per cent by June..."
Boards Defend Kindergarten Space
Source: The Windsor Star (ON), August 19, 2011
Excerpt: "Kindergarten students in Windsor get plenty of space to learn, say school board officials. They were responding Thursday to a suggestion by the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario that minimum square footages be set for the province's full-day kindergarten classrooms…. Some Ontario teachers have complained that full-day kindergarten students are housed in classrooms that are too small for the kids and all the play equipment they use. That prompted the teachers' federation to approve a resolution at its annual meeting this week urging minimum space requirements."
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Province Ponders Boost for Toronto Daycare
Source: Ottawa Citizen, August 18, 2011
Excerpt: "The province could treat Toronto differently than Ottawa when it comes to day-care funding, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Wednesday. Emerging from a meeting with Toronto's conservative mayor, Rob Ford, McGuinty said he was considering a request for increased cash for Toronto daycares. "It's something we'll have to give some thought to," the MPP for Ottawa South said. When asked whether he would consider increases in funding across the province, or just in Toronto, McGuinty replied: "We're talking about Toronto at this point in time." …Andrea Calver, co-ordinator of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, said any cash to the sector would be appreciated, but added, "the needs are just as acute in Ottawa (as in Toronto)."
Toronto Council Considers Major Cuts to Child Care
Source: Mothers’ Task Force on Child Care, August 18, 2011
Excerpt: "Instead of improving child care, Toronto considers serious cuts. KPMG, a management consulting firm, has proposed major cuts to child care – the biggest in Toronto history – in the City Services Review report (www.torontoservicereview.ca) commissioned by the Mayor. They said: sell-off 55 municipal child care centres to the for-profit or non-profit sector; cut 2,000 fee subsidies; cut the quality inspection system; cut payments to community-based child care for subsidized children; cut funding to family resource programs, pay equity and City payments to school boards for child care rents. The Toronto Executive Committee and City Council will debate the KPMG proposals in September and vote on them in the 2012 budget vote in January."
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Preschool: The Best Job-Training Program
Source: NPR, August 12, 2011
Excerpt: "When economist James Heckman was studying the effects of job training programs on unskilled young workers, he found a mystery… The problem was that the students in the training program couldn't learn what they were being taught. They lacked an important set of skills which would enable them to learn new things. Heckman, a Nobel-Prize-winning economist, calls these soft skills. You might not think of soft skills as skills at all. They involve things like being able to pay attention and focus, being curious and open to new experiences, and being able to control your temper and not get frustrated. All these soft skills are very important in getting a job. And Heckman discovered that you don't get them in high school, or in middle school, or even in elementary school. You get them in preschool."
Cheques Don't Cut It: Parents
Source: Metro (Ottawa), August 10, 2011
Excerpt: “Angry parents confronted the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Diane Finley Wednesday at a Barrhaven park as she celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Universal Child Care Benefit. The benefit is a $100 cheque to Canadian families per month for every child under six years old. But for some parents, that's not enough…. Protester Diane O’Neill approached the minister after her speech and asked when she could expect universal funding for childcare to support families. "That would be up to the provincial government," said Finley. "I suggest you ask the McGuinty government that question because it's his government.""
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Celebrating the $100-a-Month Child Benefit. Again.
Source: Macleans, August 10, 2011
Excerpt: "When I received a government news release today reminding me to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Universal Child Care Benefit, I thought, as I donned my colourful paper hat, "Has it really been a year? Time flies. Why, it feels like only last month we marked five years of those $100-a-month federal payments to parents for every kid under age six." Wait a minute. Now that I check, it was only last month. I have removed the hat."
Changes Coming to the HRSDC Sector Council Program – What It Means for the CCHRSC
Source: Child Care Human Resources Sector Council (CCHRSC), August 9, 2011
“Recently changes to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada’s (HRSDC) Sector Council Program (SCP) were announced that will affect all sector councils. The changes come as the result of the Department’s strategic review process in an effort to contribute to deficit reduction and ensure that the department’s programs reflect the government’s current priorities. The primary change will be a reduction in the overall scope/budget of the SCP. Key aspects of this change include:
A) Core funding for all sector councils will end by March 2013. Core funding covers costs such as rent, salaries, and overheads.
B) Project funding dedicated to sector councils via an annual application process will be replaced by a Grants & Contributions Program, whereby future project proposals will be accepted through a Call for Proposals issued by HRSDC. The first Call for Proposals should be issued by Spring 2012. Detailed information regarding the criteria and frequency of Calls for Proposals is not yet available.
C) The scope of the new approach will become more targeted than previously, focusing on projects in the areas of:
i) the gathering and sharing of labour market intelligence; and
ii) developing national occupational standards and related certification/accreditation initiatives.
These changes will represent a period of significant adjustment for the CCHRSC.
It is important to note that the Child CCHRSC current projects, the HR Toolkit and the Employer-Employee Survey project, will continue until their completion in 2012. In addition, there are other projects that have already been submitted to HRSDC and we hope that those that match the areas of focus described above may still begin before 2013.
In light of these changes, the CCHRSC is working to identify the best way to move forward and work effectively on behalf of Canada's ECEC sector and CCHRSC’s stakeholders. It is expected that the coming months will bring a period of review and reflection as the CCHRSC board considers options and directions for the future. We'll do our best to keep you updated on any new developments and look forward to your continued support and interest in our work!"
CCHRSC website>
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For-Profit Firm Plans Seven Centres in B.C.
Source: Vancouver Sun, August 8, 2011
Excerpt: "A for-profit, publicly traded company that is rapidly expanding across Canada plans to open seven child care centres in B.C…. However, Sharon Gregson, Vancouver school board trustee and an operator of several notfor-profit child care centres, worries about "big box child care." "Their primary concern is meeting the needs of their shareholders, which means making a profit," Gregson said. "The only way, from experience, that anybody makes a profit in child care is by gouging parents with high fees, or gouging workers with low wages and benefits or gouging kids with poor quality care." But Wulf said that is "misinformation.""
Dear Ministers: Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Source: Times & Transcript, August 4, 2011
Excerpt: "I am pleased to see that Canadian decision makers responsible for the status of women continue to meet and that women's economic security remains on their agenda. I am confused because there seems to be a disconnect between what the Ministers are saying, namely wanting to improve women's economic security and the decisions that the Canadian and New Brunswick governments are making which impact their ability to measure improvements (or setbacks) in achieving women's equality, eradicating violence and improving women's economic security."
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