Why the announcement of Saskatchewan's new child care discount has left many providers scrambling
While the announcement of child care grants in Saskatchewan comes as welcome news for many parents, it is also creating its fair share of headaches for many child care providers.
Late last week, the Saskatchewan government revealed that starting February, parents and caregivers with children under the age of six in provincially licensed child care will be eligible for a new federally-funded grant that will range from $306 to $395 monthly depending on the age of the child and type of child care.
The money will be supplied directly to child care providers to reduce upfront costs for parents.
However, the extra workload of administering the federal funding could prove challenging for some child care centres.
“Some centres have got an executive director who is devoted to nothing but office time, and therefore they've got the time in the office to get some of this done,” said Kim Carpenter, assistant director at Roots of Learning Childcare in Saskatoon.
“Our director here, if we have a staff sick or even sometimes if things are chaotic during the day, she's out of this office and on the floor with us," Carpenter said.
"If we've got some extra support time put in then I've got office time, but I don't have any devoted office time. So given that, it definitely is overwhelming."
Parents may also receive a refund for a portion of the child care fees they have paid going back to July 1, depending on their child's age, which will also be administered by child care providers.
Carpenter said she feels the province didn't give providers enough time to prepare.
“It does feel a little bit that they aren't respecting us as professionals, to throw this in and say we want it done next month,” she said.
She says she understands price reductions are important to families—some are living month-to-month—but feels "a more professional" approach would have shown more respect to the sector.
Overall, Child Care Now Saskatchewan spokesperson Sue Delanoy calls the new discount for parents "good for Saskatchewan."
“We have the lowest amount of regulated childcare probably across the country, so building this robust system will be really, really important.”
But, Delanoy says some childcare centres have unanswered questions and were left scrambling after the announcement.
“What does this look like, what forms do I need to fill out, is this retroactive … what exactly do we need to do, who is responsible for what?”, were examples of the confusion, she said.
“It's all great news, it really is, and how we roll this out and how we implement this will be the challenge; the more transparent and the more collaborative we can be, the better we'll be.”
While, as Delanoy points out, some providers have questions or concerns, others are expecting a smooth transition to the new program.
“We have very effective administration processes,” Tykes N Tots Daycare executive director Nancy Lautner said.
“We use technology really effectively, so for us, it's not a big deal. I've been working with my business administrator on this and we're kind of fighting over who gets to do it.”
“I understand that not everyone has the same type of systems that we have, we're a large organization where we're able to have these sort of effective admin systems and technologies that we use. And if you don't have that, it would be quite challenging.”
Lautner said the idea of giving parents their retroactive payments as credit was discussed, the centre decided on doing refunds across the board.
“This is real simple, like we had the banking information in there; instead of pulling fees from their account, we put money back in," she said.
In an emailed statement to CTV News, a Ministry of Education representative said there are plans to offer funding to provided to licensed child care facilities to help cover the costs associated with administering the grants.
"A one per cent admin fee will be added to the total grant amounts for the retroactive period from July to December and to the ongoing monthly grant amounts to support child care operators," the statement said.
The ministry statement it wants to "ensure parents see a reduction in fees as soon as possible, making life more affordable for Saskatchewan families and benefitting the provincial economy."
With files from Josh Lynn.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'