Date: June 18, 2002

Author/Local: C. A. Young/871-6042

RTS No. 2729

CC File No. 2402

CS&B: July 11, 2002

RECOMMENDATION

A. THAT Council approve 10 City-wide Child Care Support Service grants totalling $241,746, as listed in this report; source of funds: 2002 Childcare Grants Funds, 2002 Operating Budget.

B. THAT Council approve the reallocation of $27,019 from unexpended funds from the 2001-2002 approved allocation to Westcoast Child Care Resource Society; source of funds 2001 Childcare Grants Funds, 2001 Operating Budget.

C. THAT Council approve one Administration of City-owned Childcare Facilities grant of $78,150 to Vancouver Society of Children's Centres; source of funds: 2002 Childcare Grants Funds, 2002 Operating Budget.

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of A, B and C.

COUNCIL POLICY

Council established the annual Civic Childcare Grants Program on October 23, 1990, as part of the Civic Childcare Strategy. The overall objectives of this grant program are:

• •to support the viability, accessibility and quality of existing childcare services;
• •to assist childcare initiatives in high need areas;
• •to encourage and support efficient, coordinated administrative services required for a childcare system in Vancouver
• •to lever other sources of childcare funding whenever possible.

Council approved "Moving Forward" - Childcare: A Cornerstone of Childhood Development in April 2002, which set out a strategic plan for childcare and child development services for the City.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to recommend approval of:

10 City-wide Childcare Support Services grants

1 Administration of City-owned Childcare Facilities, and

reallocated unexpended funds approved in 2001.

BACKGROUND

On April 30, 2002, City Council approved the interim 2002 Operating Budget which included an adjustment that limited the inflationary increase for the City Grants programs to 1.75%. Consequently, the 2002 budget for the Civic Childcare Grants is $694,600, which is 1.75% higher than last year's approved allocation.

DISCUSSION

1. City-wide Childcare Support Services Grants

This grant category was established in 1992 to fund the basic infrastructure that is integral to developing and maintaining a viable, effective, high quality childcare system in Vancouver, including:

- information and referral services for parents seeking childcare,

- information, consultation and training regarding ESL, multicultural and diversity issues in childcare settings,

- ongoing in-service training and networking opportunities, and

- information and resource materials for those designing, building and operating childcare services.

While the City originally assisted with the development of the Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre's services in early 1990, provincial partnerships were later established to expand some of their services province-wide. Westcoast has provided leadership and stability to the childcare system in Vancouver and throughout the Province. In January 2002, the provincial government announced that the funding for all Childcare Resource and Referral Programs, including Westcoast, would be terminated as of March 31, 2004. Programs were given two years to seek alternative funding sources.

In an effort to be proactive, the Board of Directors of Westcoast Child Care is developing a funding program and realigning services in order to be well positioned with alternate funding sources when provincial funding ceases. Westcoast will be seeking the services of a skilled program development person and has responded to a request for proposals to the Vancouver General Hospital as the new operator of Kids in General and the G. F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre Integrated Daycare.

In addition,Council has approved a grant allocation since 1999, to support the development of childcare leadership and coordination in each of the six MCFD geographic networks. The network-based structure has provided opportunities to bring together childcare providers, family place and community representatives to dialogue, share information and plan for service change. The network-based structure was key in the consultation process for the childcare strategic plan and will continue to be a useful vehicle to seek community input into the policy planning and changes that will occur as a result of the strategic directions for childcare.

Ten applications for city-wide support services have been received and reviewed in relation to the objectives and outcomes, as described in the City's childcare strategic plan "Moving Forward" document. These include:

Resource and Information Services

Multicultural & Diversity Services

Information Day Care

Citywide Childcare Committee/Networking

Funding Allocation

For 2002, it is recommended that $241, 746 of the City-wide Child Care Support Services grant funds be allocated as follows.

Westcoast Resource & Information $98,167

Multicultural & Diversity Services $98,779

Information Day Care $33,800

City-wide Childcare Committee $2,000

Network 1: Vancouver Society of Children's Centres $1,500

Network 2: Britannia Community Centre Assn $1,500

Network 3: Collingwood Neighbourhood House $1,500

Network 4: Bayview Community School Assn $1,500

Network 5: Little Mt. Neighbourhood House $1,500

Network 6: South Vancouver Neighbourhood House $1,500

TOTAL 2002/3 GRANT REQUEST $241,746

Westcoast Resource & Information was allocated $27,019 funding through the City's Childcare grant program in 2001 that has yet to be spent. Given the changes announced by the Province and their need to re-direct resources/efforts, it is proposed that the unexpended allocations of $27,019 be redirected to the following two initiatives:

Sustainability Project $22,000

Centralized Waitlist Feasibility Study $5,019

TOTAL REALLOCATION 2001/2 $27,019

Please refer to Appendix I for detailed description of the different projects.

2. Administration of City-owned Childcare Facilities Grant

The Civic Childcare Strategy called for the development and support of a single purpose non-profit childcare organization to manage City-owned/leased facilities in the Downtown, resulting from rezoning negotiations or City projects. This grant category was established to fund administrative costs to the society.

VSOCC is currently administerting 3 city-owned child care facilities in the downtown core. Services include 5 licensed infant/toddler programs, 3 licensed group care programs for 3 -5 year olds, licensed part-time preschool programs for 3-5 year olds and family place drop-in programs for caregivers/parents and their young children. They are currently working closely with the Vancouver School Board on the development of the new school, including an out of school care program, and have recently spent time developing a formal business plan for the sustainability, and continued growth, of the agency.

VSOCC has maintained a positive financial situation through careful management and budgeting, tapping into a variety of funding sources for child care services, making full use of current staffing and facility resource, pulling back on previous decisions that have not shown clear benefit to program quality and parent satisfaction, and limited fundraising. These have been, and obviously will continue to be strengths. However, most of the more obvious or "easy to implement" sustainability strategies are already in place. In the face of expanding wait lists, increasing expenditures, and decreasing government support, VSOCC must consider other options to balance budgets and to develop new services.

VSOCC is requesting support from the City to further develop four parts of the business plan. These four areas of work fit within the framework and strategies of the City's plan and will provide valuable information and learning to other organizations in the City. Details of the 2002/3 workplans are set out in Appendix II. The current operating budget exceeds $2 million. It is therefore recommended that the VSOCC's request for $78,150 be approved by Council.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The 2002 Operating Budget Civic Childcare Grants is $694,600 of which this report recommends allocations of $319,869: city-wide Childcare Support Services and Administration of City-owned Childcare Facilities grants of $241,746 and $78,150 respectively. In addition, this report recommends redirecting 2001 grant funding of $27,010 to Westcoast Resource & Information towards a Sustainability Project and Centralized Waitlist Feasibility Study. The accompanying report for the approval of Childcare Program Enhancement and Inner-city Cildcare Sustaining grants of $123,321, and $226,919 respectively, leave $24,491 to be allocated at a later date.

CONCLUSIONS

This report recommends approval of

10 City-wide Childcare Support Services Grants totalling $241,746

1 Administration of City-owned Childcare Facilities Grant of $78,150

This leaves $374,751 remaining in the 2002 Childcare Grants Budget for allocation to grant categories which are reported in July and/or November (see Appendix III).

* * * * *

APPENDIX I

A. Westcoast Resource and Information Services Work Plan 2002 - 2003

Improving Service Coordination/Collaboration

Objectives: To facilitate a more collaborative and comprehensive range of neighbourhood-based child development services for families and children 0 - 12 years of age.

To strengthen coordination among City, education, health, recreation and social services

Outcomes:

• •A range of regulated and/or supported group and family childcare programs for children 0 - 12 years of age which include family places, play groups, drop-in programs, toy lending and early intervention programs for children and families.

• •A system of early childhood development services that are integrated with neighbourhood hubs (i.e. neighbourhood houses, schools, community centres, family-serving non-profit organizations)

RIS Activities:

1. Through a combination of city and provincial funding, provide access to Westcoast Resource Centre by Vancouver families and service providers.

(2000 hours of service)

2. Respond to general enquiries 600 Vancouver contacts on child care and child development related issues through phone, fax, email and in person consultations.

3. Facilitate the City-wide Child Care Committee with representatives from the 6 Vancouver networks. (36 hours of service)

Establishing Priorities and Planning Process

Objectives: To create a systematic and transparent approach to planning and setting priorities.

To strengthen municipal processes to support the development of a comprehensive range of early childhood development services

To develop an equitable needs-driven expansion plan for sustainable child care

Outcomes:

Allocation of funding/resources based on vision and established priorities.

Planning process which is inclusive and transparent to the community.

Delivery of services which are responsive to community needs.

RIS Activities

1. Share information reflecting the themes of general enquiries on child care and child development related issues coming to RIS staff with the City Child Development Coordinator. (12 hours of service)

4.5.

2. Share child care and child development information with the Vancouver child care/child development community through the Westcoast Post and the Westcoast Website. (3 editions of the Westcoast Post each year circulated to 550 regulated child care services in Vancouver and monthly updating of the Westcoast Website/2000+ visits to the Westcoast Website)

3. Broaden distribution of the Westcoast Post to Vancouver child development services in the City of Vancouver. (Increase distribution to an additional 25 Vancouver child development services.)

4. Facilitate information-sharing about relevant child care/child developmentissues amongst Vancouver child care and child development workers through participation on the City-wide Child Care Committee, the Vancouver Training Committee, the Vancouver Supported Child Care Advisory Committee and other ad hoc committees as required. (120 hours of service)

Facilitating Stable, Flexible, Quality Child Care

Objectives: To facilitate a mechanism for improving the quality of childcare.

To develop new support systems which increase the financial and administrative stability of non-profit childcare centres over the next five years.

Outcomes:

• •Financially and administratively viable childcare system.
• •Positive learning/care environments for children and families.
• •Services responsive to parent needs at the neighbourhood level.
• •Improved school readiness.

RIS Activities

1. Respond to general enquiries from Vancouver residents about child care and child development related issues by phone, fax, E-mail and in person consultations. (600 contacts per year)

2. Share information with Vancouver service providers about the provision of stable, flexible, quality child care and child development services through the Westcoast Post and the Westcoast Website. (3 editions of the Westcoast Post each year circulated to 550 regulated child care services in Vancouver/monthly updating of the Westcoast Website/2000+ visits to Westcoast Website)

3. Deliver the Saturday workshop series for Vancouver child care and child development workers. (8 -10 workshops for 190 Vancouver participants)

4. Identify or develop, collect and circulate library resources supporting the development of financially and administratively stable, quality child care and child development services. (5-10 new resources to be added to the collection)

5. Pilot speciality workshops to Vancouver service providers such as "Child Care as Social Policy". (1 - 2 workshops for 20-40 participants.)

Strengthening Private and Public Partnerships

Objectives: To articulate and promote a common vision of child development services which is comprehensive and coordinated for children 0 - 12 years.

To facilitate partnerships between the private and public sectors.

Outcomes:

• •Effective use of existing and new resources.
• •A collective vision of city-wide child development services for maximum funding.

RIS Activities

1. To develop effective partnerships with other Vancouver-based libraries through the Vancouver Small Libraries Network to share resources, to extend understandings of various collections, improve client access to the collections, and to catalogue each library in the Westcoast database as a point of reference for further research and resources. (Increase committee participation by 1-2 members/ 18 hours of service.)

2. Explore options for sustainability of Westcoast Resource and Information Services and the Westcoast Library.

Facilitating Effective Communication

Objectives: To provide on-going opportunities for dialogue with the community which informs and responds to emerging and unique needs of neighbourhoods.

To increase the profile of child development services in Vancouver.

Outcomes:

• •Documented strategy for child development services.
• •Informed community, local and provincial government.

RIS Activities:

1. Identify broad themes of interest and concern to Vancouver residents about child care and child development related issues through experiences received by RIS staff and disseminate information by phone, fax, E-mail and in person consultations appropriately. (600 contacts.)

2. Facilitate information-sharing and networking amongst Vancouver service providers through the Saturday workshop series. (8 to 10 workshops for 190 Vancouver child care and child development workers)

3. Support the work of the City Child Development Coordinator as requested. (15 hours of service)

4. Facilitate information-sharing about relevant issues amongst Vancouver child care and child development workers through the Westcoast Post and the Westcoast Website. (3 editions of the Westcoast Post each year circulated to more than 550 Vancouver services/monthly updating of the Westcoast website/2000+ visits to Westcoast Website)

5. Support up to 4 community meetings for information sharing amongst child care and child development services as required, or requested. (10 hours of service)

B. 2002-2003 Westcoast Multicultural & Diversity Services (WMDS) WORKPLAN

Facilitate Stable, Flexible, Quality Child Care

Objectives: To facilitate a mechanism for improving the quality of child care

Outcomes:

· Positive learning/care environments for children and families.

· Improved school readiness

WMDS Activities:

1. Serve more than 2,000 Vancouver based visitors and callers to WMDS through phone, fax, and in-person contacts (1,500 hours of service)

2. Increase accessibility to WMDS resources and materials by 24 Vancouver child care and child development programs serving at least 750 children through Network Site Lending in three Vancouver Networks. (80 hours of service)

3. Provide outreach services to 10 -12 Vancouver-based child care and child development programs working with at least 35 staff to implement culturally sensitive, anti-bias programming and modeling multicultural programming, school readiness and second/additional language acquisition strategies with young children. (200 hours of service)

4. Implement long term resource loans to programs accessing WMDS outreach services. (60 hours of service)

5. Pilot a new multi-session training format in 3 series for at least 45 staff of Vancouver-based child care and child development services related to culturally sensitive programming and environments for children. (90 hours of service)

6. Provide up to 6 workshops upon request to at least 100 staff of Vancouver-based child care and child development services and parents on topics related to multicultural, anti-bias programming for children. (75 hours of service)

7. Develop a range of resources and materials that support culturally sensitive, anti-bias programming for children for loan to Vancouver child care and child development programs. (500 hours of service) <See Appendix One>

8. Implement Bullying Prevention Project Phase 2 - extended work and training with board, staff and parents of two Vancouver child care centres serving at least 50 preschool-age children to put an anti-bullying program into practice. (100 hours of service) <See Appendix Two>

9. Offer extensive bullying prevention support to staff and parents to 2 out of school child care programs upon request. (32 hours of service)

10. Model activities for up to 15 staff in at least 5 child care and child development programs to promote readiness skills for 4 and 5 year old children prior school entry. (30 hours of service)

11. Recruit at least 15 child care providers and childhood development staff to participate in 2 roundtable discussion groups to share ideas, materials and strategies to assist EAL/newcomer children who are experiencing difficulties in integrating into programs. (10 hours of service) <See Appendix Three.>

12. Explore development of a plan to reach refugee children to support optimal early childhood development. (28 hours of service)

Strengthening Private and Public Partnerships

Objectives: To facilitate partnerships between the private and public sectors.

Outcomes: Effective use of existing and new resources.

A collective vision of city-wide children's services in Vancouver.

WMDS Activities

1. Explore options for sustainability of multicultural and diversity services for Vancouver families through new private-public partnerships. (100 hours of service)

C. 2002-2003 INFORMATION DAYCARE (ID) WORKPLAN

Improving Service Coordination

Objectives: To facilitate a more coordinated and comprehensive range of neighbourhood-based early childhood development services for families and children 0 to 12 years of age

Outcomes: A range of regulated and/or supported group and family child care programs for children 0 to 12 years of age which include family places, playgroups/drop-ins, toy lending and/or early intervention programs for children and families.

ID Activities

1. Through a combination of city and provincial funding, monthly updating of a database of more than 500 Vancouver based licensed and/or registered child care settings and 11 family place programs (96 hours of service)

2. Input of data related to playgroups, drop-in programs, toy lending and/or early intervention programs for Vancouver children and families. (50 hours of service)

Establishing Priorities and Planning Process

Objectives: To strengthen municipal processes to support the development of a comprehensive range of early childhood development services.

Outcomes: Delivery of services which are responsive to community needs

ID Activities

1. Reports from the database of more than 500 Vancouver based licensed and/or registered child care settings, 11 family place programs, playgroups, drop-in programs, toy lending and/or early intervention programs for children and families. (24 hours of service)

2. Sharing of database summaries with municipal planner and community based service networks for planning purposes (12 hours of service)

Facilitating Stable, Flexible, Quality Childcare

Objectives: To facilitate a mechanism for improving the quality of childcare.

Outcomes: Positive learning/care environments for children and families.

Services responsive to parent needs at the neighbourhood level.

ID Activities

1. Through a combination of city and provincial funding, maintaining free parent resource and referral services for Vancouver families in 3 languages; including telephone support, mailing/faxing parent information packages and choosing child care sessions

• •Facilitating more than 50 Choosing Child Care sessions and sharing information with Vancouver families about play groups/drop-ins, toy lending and/or early intervention programs for children and families with 1200 Vancouver parents in 3 languages (53 sessions @ 2 hours)
• •Providing more than 1,333 hours of telephone consultation service responding to almost 8000 calls from the community (8000 calls @ 10 minutes)
• •Mailing/faxing 4500 child care and ECE information packages to Vancouver families (4500 pkgs x $2.00)

Facilitating Effective Communication

Objectives: To increase the profile of the early childhood development services in Vancouver

Outcomes: Informed community, local and provincial government

ID Activities

• • Sharing information re licensed/registered child care settings, family places, play groups, drop-in programs, toy lending and/or early intervention programs for children and families with community groups as well as municipal and provincial government (25 hours of service)

Strengthening Private and Public Partnerships

Objectives: To facilitate partnerships between the private and public sectors.

Outcomes: Effective use of existing and new resources.

A collective vision of city-wide children's services in Vancouver.

ID Activities

1. Explore options for sustainability of child care resource and referral services for Vancouver families through new private-public partnerships. (100 hours of service)

D. Westcoast Sustainability Project

Westcoast requests permission to retain $22,000 of unspent City funds from the 2001-02 fiscal year to support the creation and implementation of a Westcoast Fund Development Program. The province has announced its decision to eliminate direct provincial funding for Westcoast Resource & Information Services, Westcoast Child Care INFORM and Westcoast Multicultural Diversity Services as well as the Vancouver Child Care Resource & Referral Program and Vancouver One Stop Access service as of March 31, 2004. This represents a loss of $1.7 million of Westcoast's annual revenues of $2.5 million. It is imperative that Westcoast aggressively explore alternative funding options to sustain these services that are so vital to the stability, sustainability and quality of child care settings in Vancouver and throughout the province.

Over the past few years Westcoast has focussed a good deal of energy on increasing its own fundraising capacity. In addition to accessing Gaming Funds to augment the revenue available through its provincial, city and federal contracts, Westcoast has developed an active volunteer fundraising committee that has undertaken a variety of successful fundraising activities on Westcoast's behalf. These activities have included 3 annual dinners, 2 licensed raffles, a golf tournament, annual direct donor solicitations, 2 silent auctions and variety of fundraising sales. Strongly supported by service users and the broader child care and family serving communities, these activities have increased Westcoast's independently fundraised revenue from a few hundred dollars a year to approximately $15,000 annually in each of the past three years. Given the funding challenges facing Westcoast as a result of the province's announcements, it is imperative that Westcoast move from these simple fundraising events to a fully functional and adequately resourced Fund Development Program.

Westcoast is currently well positioned to initiate a Fund Development Program. Several of the essential elements are in place. Over the past several weeks Westcoast's volunteer Board of Directors has:

1. Adopted a set of Fund Development Policies to guide this important endeavour.

2. Agreed to participate in a pilot project hosted by Volunteer Vancouver called Business Volunteers in the Community which will bring additional expertise in developing relationships with the private sector to our Board table.

3. Purchased a two year subscription to a well reputed Fund Development database.

4. Established a Board Fund Development Committee and two Working Groups with specific well articulated terms of reference and responsibilities.

5. Identified persons in the community with the necessary expertise to provide advice and guidance to the Westcoast Board and staff as well as its Committees and Working Groups.

However, success in fund development of the magnitude Westcoast must undertake is far beyond the capacity of volunteers, however committed they may be. Adequate staffing resources are essential to an effective Fund Development Program. Therefore, we seek support from the City in this endeavour by granting permission for Westcoast to utilize $22,000 of unspent City funds from the 2001-02 fiscal year for this purpose.

These funds will be combined with matching dollars Westcoast has received from the province to acquire staffing support for the Westcoast Board and its committees in pursuit of corporate, foundation and individual donors and sponsors for the broad scope of Westcoast programs and services that support a comprehensive, accessible, stable, quality child care system that is so vital to the well-being of children, their families and the community.

E. Feasibility Study for Vancouver Centralized Wait List Pilot Project

Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre, through the Information Daycare component of its Child Care Resource & Referral service, wishes to explore the feasibility of establishing a Centralized Wait List for Vancouver families seeking child care and child development services for their children.

A Vancouver Centralized Wait List would be designed to meet the specific needs of Vancouver families and child care and child development programs while at the same drawing on the experience of a similar pilot project currently underway in the Ottawa region. A Wait List mechanism is one way to move towards supporting the outcomes that fall under two areas identified in the Moving Forward framework:

1. Improving Service Coordination/Collaboration

• •A range of regulated and/or supported group and family child care programs for children 0 - 12 years which include family places, play groups, drop-in programs, toy lending and early intervention programs for children and families.

2. Establishing Priorities and Planning Process

• •Allocation of funding/resources based on vision and established priorities.

• •Delivery of services which are responsive to community needs.

At this time each child care program in Vancouver maintains its own wait list of parents seeking child care services. A centre's wait list can vary from a few families to as many as 1,300 families depending on the number of licensed spaces a centre has, the age groups of children it serves, the demographics and needs of the neighbourhood in which the centre is located and the centre's reputation in community.

It has long been recognized that many families place their child's name on the wait list of multiple programs, often many months in advance of the date that care is actually required, in order to maximize the likelihood of securing a child care space by the time they need care. Thus, it is impossible to know from the wait list numbers that centres report what the actual demand for care is for the various age groups of children in the city. Accurate data regarding wait list numbers is essential to designing a realistic development plan for child care and other child and family support services for Vancouver.

The City of Ottawa is funding a Centralized Wait List Pilot for two years at a cost of $55,000 annually. There is no cost to either parents or child care programs to participate in the pilot. The Ottawa pilot project serves 30 licensed francophone child care programs with a combined capacity of 2,232 spaces for children aged 0 - 12 years.

In Vancouver we currently have 192 group child care programs with a combined capacity of more than 5,000 spaces for children aged 0 -12 years. This does not include licensed preschool programs. There are numerous routes that could be followed in implementing a Vancouver pilot. For example, we could target the pilot to wait lists of:

• •child care programs within 2 or 3 of the Networks in the city or
• •one or two age groups of children served by Vancouver programs or
• •"larger" child care programs with more than 100 child care spaces or
• •"smaller" child care programs with fewer than 100 child care spaces or
• •all child care programs serving children aged 0 - 12 years.

We would also want to explore the need for including within this pilot a mechanism for referring Vancouver families to other kinds of child and family development programs such as family places, drop-in programs, toy lending programs, parenting and parent support programs and early intervention services. Thus, the scope of a pilot for Vancouver must be carefully identified and costed.

We anticipate that the implementation of the pilot project would be a cost shared venture involving several funders including the City, the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development, the BC Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services, the United Way of the Lower Mainland and others. However, much exploration, discussion and planning will be required before implementation of a Centralized Wait List Project in Vancouver can be considered.

Thus, we request permission to use $5,019 of unspent City funds from the past fiscal year to support the exploration, discussion and planning processes required to move to the full proposal stage.

APPENDIX II

Vancouver Society of Children's Centres

Administration Grant: 2002 - 2003

Facilitating Stable, Flexible, Quality Child Care

Objectives

• •to strengthen quality child care programs by:

a) involvement in the "Vancouver Continuous Quality Improvement Pilot Project

b) delivering a minimum of 5 professional development opportunities for staff (and parents)

c) reorganizing the day to day supervision of child care programs at the Dorothy Lam and Quayside Centres to ensure that strong support of the teams and the families in the programs is maintained

d) provide a positive work environment that includes good working conditions, strong supervision, regular performance review and opportunities for staff to be involved in agency decision-making processes

• •to facilitate flexible child care options by:

a) increasing the number of preschool sessions offered in the Yaletown/downtown area

b) exploring expected changes to the licensing regulations and new arrangements for the delivery of more financially sustainable services

c) exploring a partnership with two private sector companies to provide emergency infant/toddler child care services for their employees

• •to formally assess the impacts of the new provincial government funding formula for child care when that information becomes available
• •to facilitate the stable delivery of a high quality hub of child care services through a well managed administration
• •to undertake a formal cost/benefits analysis of our business plan
• •to develop a clear set of policies and procedures for the creation of an internal child care subsidy program for families
• •to negotiate a new collective agreement that is mutually positive for both, employees and the agency
• •to begin to work on a flexible design for services for the new Western Neighbourhood centre (on the Concord Lands)
• •to seek out funding sources for replacing the family place drop-in services lost through the termination of funding by the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority

Outcomes

• •a quality improvement process and "tool kit" that can be used by child care programs across the city
• •5 professional development opportunities for staff/parents
• •new organizational structure with centre coordinator at the Dorothy Lam and Quayside Centres responsible for day to day operations of the programs
• •2 more preschool sessions offered on Saturdays
• •at least two alternative models for delivering more financially sustainable services for families
• •the development of a 6-month pilot project which offers emergency child care services to employees of two private sector companies
• •the redevelopment of the agencies operating budgets for the next 3 years based on the new provincial government funding formula
• •a continuum of child care services that is financially stable, maximizes existing resources and that seeks to broaden its funding base from other sources
• •a cost/benefit analysis report of our business plan is presented to the Board
• •a clear set of policies and procedures for an internal subsidy program that is transparent, fair and easy to understand
• •a new collective agreement that is positive for employees and financially sustainable for the agency
• •a facility design and draft operational budget for Western Neighbourhood that meets some of the community needs for flexible child care and family services and is operationally sustainable
• •a range of funding applications submitted to a variety of sources to replace the family place drop-in services that were lost due to funding cutbacks

Improving Service Coordination/Collaboration

Objectives

• •Work with the Vancouver School Board, the YMCA, Gordon Neighbourhood House and other local service providers to explore the need for school age child care in downtown

· Work with the Vancouver School Board, the City, the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, and the parents at Dorothy Lam Centre during the development and construction of the new False Creek North Elementary School

· Work with the new False Creek Elementary School staff, and the VSB on the plans for a before and after-school child care program

· Work with the Network 1 Family and Children's Committee, the Vancouver Child Care Administrators Network, the Citywide Child Care Committee and the Vancouver Supported Child Care Services Society to facilitate a more coordinated approach to service delivery and training opportunities

· Work with Network 1 child care providers to explore the development of family resource/drop-in programs within existing child care and community spaces

· Work with parent-run child care centres to explore administrative partnerships or amalgamations with VSOCC

Outcomes

• •One additional licensed school age child care program in the downtown
• •False Creek North Elementary School construction, onto the Dorothy Lam Centre, is completed with little disruption to current child care services
• •A plan is developed for the delivery of a before and after school program for the new elementary school
• •A plan for the development of family place drop-ins in the downtown and a joint request to funders for implementation

Facilitating Effective Communication

Objective

• •to develop a formal internal public education plan and advocacy strategy for VSOCC to increase client awareness about child care, early childhood development and the financial sustainability realities of delivering child care
• •to develop a formal, public summary of VSOCC's recently approved business plan and to market the plan to funders, community, government and other key stakeholders
• •to work with other groups in the City to inform government, both provincially, and regionally, and others on the benefits of child care, child development and the impacts of recent policy changes on children

Outcomes

• •a documented plan for informing and educating clients//families
• •a clear, concise document that informs key stakeholders about the plan for our future and a summary of responses and feedback from the key stakeholders
• •a clear information sharing tool which the community can use to inform key parties

Strengthening Private/Public Partnerships

Objective

· to work with the Yaletown Business Improvement Association on the implementation of the Summerfest event

Outcome

· a well attended, well organized event that includes community service agencies, and is a fundraiser for VSOCC

Improving Service Coordination

Objective

· to develop a more complete model of a "family resource centre" which incorporates a comprehensive range of neighbourhood-based early childhood development services for families and children. This "centre" would include the three key components of childhood development as identified in recent research: child care, early childhood services and parenting/family supports. Links would be developed with VPL, arts organizations, organizations focused on music and dance for children and others.

Outcome

· a model, operating budgets, funding strategies and potential partners for a "family resource centre" will be developed

Facilitating Stable, Flexible, Quality Child Care

Objective 1

· to implement a formal market research process with parents regarding fees, and their expectations for quality, range and types of child care services. The market research will be used to assess parents' ability/willingness to pay increased services and the balance point beyond which parents will actively consider alternative choices. The research will also explore their interest in alternate fee structures and services.

Outcome

· a formal report that provides information on parents' ability/willingness to pay increased fees, and the point at which alternate choices will be explored. It will also identify their interest in alternate fee structures and services.

Objective 2

· to develop a three year implementation plan for alternative revenue and entrepreneurial service development. This could include looking at non-traditional child care, drop in's, birthday parties, toy and equipment rentals, activity resources and information for families to use at home, identifying unique specialized market niches for children. These ideas were generated through the work of a Board task force and a team from Leadership Vancouver.

Outcome

· a plan/model for alternative revenue and entrepreneurial service development that identifies principles, a set of initial priorities and identification of resources needed for implementation

Objective 3

· to develop a set of principles, investment polices and a detailed plan for the creation of a stabilization reserve fund for early childhood services

Outcome

· a plan for moving forward on the creation of a stabilization reserve fund

Strengthening Private and Public Partnerships

Objective

· to develop a formal plan for approaching and educating, corporations/local businesses for in-kind contributions, sponsorships, annual gifts to support early childhood development

Objective

· a plan, communication strategy and resources identified for early childhood development services to work with corporations and local businesses

APPENDIX III

R:\CC\Meeting Coordinators\REPORTS\CS&B\2002\020711\csb1.wpd