According to the Association of Alberta Childcare Entrepreneurs (AACE), some operators are contemplating withdrawing from the $10 per day child care program due to their dissatisfaction with the way the province is handling the child care sector.
Following a heated town hall meeting on Monday that left many daycare providers feeling “let down,” a number of attendees expressed doubts about the government’s capacity to carry out a $10 per day child care program that would maintain the standard and longevity of the sector.
During the discussion, the province disclosed its intention to poll operators in order to have a better understanding of the expenses related to operating a daycare center. Operators were warned that their affordability grant payments would be withheld if they disobeyed.
Threat of having cuts
According to AACE chair Krystal Churcher, daycare providers have no problem giving financial records if doing so will advance the program. If they don’t follow the survey’s requirements, they fear that their payments may be reduced. She wonders why, after three years of the program, the province has not thought to take action sooner.
During the discussion, the province disclosed its intention to poll operators in order to have a better understanding of the expenses related to operating a daycare center. Operators were warned that their affordability grant payments would be withheld if they disobeyed.
Threat of having cuts
According to AACE chair Krystal Churcher, daycare providers have no problem giving financial records if doing so will advance the program. If they don’t follow the survey’s requirements, they fear that their payments may be reduced. She wonders why, after three years of the program, the province has not thought to take action sooner.
“We can tell that very little knowledge exists at any level of government about what it takes to operate a viable, high-quality child-care center based on how this is being rolled out nationally in three years,” Churcher said.
Operators expressed dissatisfaction with the idea that parents in your center might lose their ability to get funds if they did not complete the required survey.
The provincial and the federal government inked a deal in November 2021 for the implementation of the $10 per day child care program by 2026. The five-year, $3.8-million agreement included reducing child care costs for parents in Alberta, expanding the number of child care spots, creating and funding child care options for disadvantaged groups, and assisting with licensing initiatives.
On January 31, 2023, the federal and provincial governments jointly announced that, by the end of March 2026, 68,700 new licensed child-care spaces would be covered by the agreement, with up to 22,500 more for-profit child-care spaces potentially eligible for funding supports over the following three years.
The government has set a daily average price of $15 for licensed child care as of January 1, 2024.
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Long-term funding
The goal of the poll, according to a statement sent to Postmedia by Jobs, Economy, and Trade Minister Matt Jones, is to collect data in order to create a long-term funding framework. “It is not intended to be a recurring requirement,” he stated of the survey.
According to Jones, “this survey is also needed to support our government’s ongoing discussions regarding Alberta’s unique early learning and child-care system with the federal government.”
This data will be used to calibrate financing to providers in a way that is fair and takes into account the average cost of running child care facilities for various program types in various parts of the province. Operators that choose to take part in the Affordability Grant Program must complete the survey.
“Our policies can only accurately reflect and support providers in accordance with provider feedback.”
Churcher stated that in addition to the anxiety and rumors of operators leaving the $10-a-day program because of possible funding revocation, there is currently a two-year wait list nationwide for admission to the program. Additionally, the industry is burdened to some extent by staffing shortages.
Churcher said it’s critical to realize that the child care sector is shifting away from the parent-funded model of the past, in which funds went directly to operators so they could set their own prices, add workers as required, and manage costs. Instead, the sector is heading toward a framework for cost control.
According to Churcher, the government will use the survey and data gathered to ascertain what a regional average will be for rent and authorized charges like operator payroll. However, she is concerned that a regional average is not a “true cost” and that it will differ based on other factors, such as rent and the capacity to hire and keep employees.
“We have already seen in three years that our province is using very low, ill-informed, and outdated regional averages to determine what people’s fees should be for child care,” Churcher said. “A regional average is not a true cost.”