Ontario Caregivers - daycare announcement due today

[Sassygirl]

Yes Crayola that is exactly right. 1 under 12 months 2 under 24 months including your own.

[Artsand crafts]

Lots of HDC have more than 2 under 2. How is the government going to help parents when we start dropping all the under 2's. They are putting parents in the middle of this mess. So I am now wondering how they ae going to help them when they are left without care.

I have 3 under 2. I will have to drop one. I will have to let go my assistant, stop serving organic meals, cut down in crafts, etc. and all this until I finish upgrading my skills to get out and find a job. If I'm lucky I will be left with 3 kids that don't need drop off and pick up from school (when following the rule of 3 under 3) . That means I will hardly cover my costs.

I am also wondering why aren't we allowed to have an individual license instead of having to work for an agency. I worked for Wee Watch the first year and I did not have any value added, but for sure they always took a big cut out of my income. Why would I want to do that again? Agencies have a cap on the fees. Currently I am charging more than agencies in my area. If I go to an agency I will make about $20 less per day per kid (after they take their cut).

[Crayola kiddies]

Yes Crayola that is exactly right. 1 under 12 months 2 under 24 months including your own.

Ok thanks .... The only time this affects me them is during the summer when school is out .... So I'm not overly concerned

[Artsand crafts]

The rule with agencies is 2 under 2 and 3 under 3

[kimg]

So am I understanding this that if we stay unliscenced we can still have 5 but it includes your own (mine are in school so I don't care and I have a teacher family so those leave in the summer and I can insert my kids in their spots) .... And we can only have two under two. Is this right?

I think so. But what about b/a school when your kids are home? Would that then put you over your limit??

This is absolutely going to affect me in a big way. I have two kids, one in half day SK and one that will be going to JK in Sept. I only have pt (seems to be the only need in the area), and I have f DCK. I'd have to get rid of 2, and tell the other three that they will loose their spots unless they want to pay for ft. Or raise rates. Either way, I either close, and the parents are out daycare, or I raise rates to keep my income consistant, and the parents get screwed. The parents are the ones getting screwed here.

And what about all these school aged kids during the summer when their board run care closes for 2 months?? Where are they going??

[Crayola kiddies]

my husband is home in the am with the kids and puts them on the bus ...they don't come down stairs to the daycare in the am and they get home 15 mins before I shut down.

[gravy_train]

This sentence has me worried: "Ontario will introduce legislation that gives inspectors new powers to close unsafe locations “on the spot” and give hefty fines to caregivers who break the rules"
Will we be given a list of safety criteria that we must ensure our daycare meets? My biggest concern is that I have a swimming pool so am fairly certain that I will not be allowed to continue my business (even though it is fenced and locked). Does anyone know if you can have a pool if you're licensed?
I was kind of bracing myself for this but was expecting the changes to be announced in the spring.
As for the ratios, I understand that the rule is one child under one two under two, etc. but is one defined as 12 moths, and two 24 months, etc?

[bright sparks]

Ok thanks .... The only time this affects me them is during the summer when school is out .... So I'm not overly concerned

Do you mind me asking you how many kids you care for and their ages right now. I am just interested in knowing how you make this business viable with all the restrictions. My kids are over 10 so they will never be an issue but I am wondering how you will stick within the ratios and still be full? Thanks

[FSD]

Well...this SUCKS! I have 4 under 2 yrs, 1 that will be 3yrs in January and my own 2 girls (6 & 4). Anyone know when this is all supposed to take effect?

[2cuteboys]

There really won't be a difference in income then, considering agencies take about 10$ per day per child, if we are allowed one less kid...financially it ends up being the same am I correct?

I would also like more detail about "unsafe" daycares being shut down. Hopefully they come up with a specific definition of "unsafe".

I just don't get where all the 12 month olds are going to go now. They are not addressing the demand for care for this age range and that unlicensed daycares are taking these kids on because licensed places don't have spaces. They are basically cutting that off and it will leave parents with no care options.

Feeling pretty bummed out

Your agencies charge $10/day/child???? That's obscene.

In AB our agencies are funded by the gov't through child and family services; it's really the only reason it actually works. I pay them $70/month, and $40 of that is insurance. It basically works out to $10/child/month, and I only have 3 kids (not including my own). I believe the agency staff is paid by the government, with the agency fees mainly going to admin stuff. They also run 6 PD trainings a year.

We're limited to 6 including our own kids, 2 under 2, 3 under 3. It does result in a lot of 1 year olds without care, but we still have non-accredited day homes with no restrictions on ages. One of my neighbours runs one and she's got mainly under 2s.

We also have levels of accreditation based on education and experience, and the government pays top-up wages to providers with agencies, up to $6.62/hr of time you have kids in your home. We also get $2500 (meant to be spent on things for the program, but it's not monitored) after the completion of one year (for the first two years), and a bonus for returning to child care after being gone for some period of time - it didn't apply to me so I'm not sure what the time frame is. I need to do a lot of work (submit meal and program plans, have monthly visits, attend PD), but the extra money FAR outweighs the extra hour it takes me a week.

Bottom line is if the government it going to go ahead with such tight restrictions, they need to cough up some incentive programs. They're going to have A LOT of providers jumping ship as it just won't be financially beneficial or feasible at all. What happens to the economy when a significant number of parents need to quit because they can no longer find or afford childcare? Not a good situation.