The waitlist for a licensed childcare spot in Grey County is growing due to a shortage of workers.
Grey County’s Children’s Services Manager Tara Cockerill provided an update on the childcare sector to county councillors on Thursday, saying several centres are operating at reduced hours to continue to meet their staffing requirements.
Cockerill says in a report the waitlist for a licensed childcare space in Grey County increased to over 800 kids in September. County childcare operators are only running at about 70 per cent of their licensed capacity due to staffing challenges.
She says without taking into consideration the needed areas for expansion, county operators report an additional 150 staff would be required to be at full operational capacity at regular hours.
“Operators are reporting an increase in staff leaving the sector and greater difficulty in replace those staff,” Cockerill told county councillors. “The high demand for employment across the region is resulting in staff leaving for other sectors. There are things like higher pay and signing bonuses that are attracting them to leave.”
A report by Cockerill says wages for staff in licensed child care range from $14.25 to $23.20 an hour. Frontline childcare workers are also eligible for a $2 an hour provincial Wage Enhancement Grant.
Cockerill says a joint-committee with Bruce County is being developed for early childhood educator recruitment and retention. In a report she says the committee works with a variety of stakeholders, including colleges, childcare operators, labour boards and economic development to come up with plans to find and keep the necessary staff to operate at licensed capacity.
“We recognize the critical importance of ECEs and are working with our partners in Bruce County,” Cockerill says.
In August, Grey and Bruce counties launched a “Be an ECE” website to provide information about courses, grants and other funding opportunities for those interested in becoming an early childhood educator. Cockerill says the county’s children’s services department is also working closely with communications to develop promotions to inform the community about the importance of ECEs, and how to become one.
A pathways to ECE document was also created to share with employment services and guidance counselors.
“The children’s services department uses all the financial and program supports available,” Cockerill says in a report. “However, the lack of registered staff is a problem that will take time and new approaches to solve.”
She says the county is waiting on details about a potential provincial/federal universal childcare plan. The federal government earmarked $30-billion over five years in its 2021 budget to establish a Canada-wide childcare program. It has reached agreements with seven provinces and one territory to date, but has yet to make a deal with Ontario for childcare funding.