For those of us who are living in Ontario ~ thought I would share that the Liberals have released a 'discussion paper' on 'Modernizing Childcare in Ontario' which goes over short term and long term plans and goals on where to head with childcare now that we have Full Day Early Learning rolling out and due to be fully complete by 2015 ~ it is an interesting read only 15 pages so thought I would share for those who want their voice hear ~ they are asking for public feedback from now until September 24th
More information on how to have your voice heard here..
http://news.ontario.ca/edu/en/2012/0...-families.html
and
read the PDF of the paper here
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/childcare/M...Child_Care.pdf
For those who like the Coles notes version - I would pay closest attention to page 13 cause that is the part that refers to those of us who are offering 'unregulated home childcare'
They want feedback on the following specific to us so let your voices be HEARD before we wind up 'regulated' as the only option cause as you may or may not know there are loud advocates pushing for 'only regulation' as an option to increase quality childcare for Ontario's children and families ... so if this is not something that WE want we need to make sure our voices are louder and clearer that we are perfectly capable of providing quality childcare without a license and let them know what WE want to level the playing field and make sure that families have CHOICE in childcare settings and options!
To support the modernization of the current legislative framework,
the government seeks your feedback on the following key questions:
✦✦ How should standards be updated to improve health, safety and overall quality in child care?
✦✦ How can the government reduce duplication and overlap in requirements for licensed child care providers?
✦✦ How can the government more effectively harmonize standards across legislation as well as regulatory requirements in child care (e.g., numbers/ages of children in licensed vs. unlicensed home care, clarification of programs that do and do not require licences)?
✦✦ As the government looks to deliver on the commitment to provide on-site after-school programs for six-to-12-year-olds, should we consider a new licensing category for older children that builds on
the strengths of a recreation program model (e.g., different program requirements for older children, participation in recreation-focused programs)?
✦✦ How could new licensing approaches support home- and centrebased care in smaller, rural and remote communities (e.g., permitting home-based providers to care for more children where there is more than one provider, providing greater flexibility for family or mixed age groupings and space configurations)?
✦✦ How can the government foster quality in informal home-based child care?