ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: July 11, 1996
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Director of Community Services, Social Planning
SUBJECT: Vancouver YWCA Request for Childcare Endowment
Funding for Granny Y's Program
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT Council authorize The Director of Legal Services and
the Director of Community Services, Social Planning to draw
up a childcare operating agreement with the Vancouver YWCA
for the period September 1, 1996 to August 31, 1997, which
provides interim funding of an infant/toddler subsidy of up
to $1,500 per space per annum (maximum $30,000). Source of
Funds: Childcare Endowment Reserve.
B. THAT Council direct staff to meet with appropriate
representatives from senior levels of government, the
downtown employers and community funders to explore
sustainable funding strategies for infant and toddler care.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services submits A and B for
CONSIDERATION.
COUNCIL POLICY
On December 15, 1994, the Childcare Endowment Reserve was established.
Approval of grant recommendations requires eight affirmative votes.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to provide a context for and to
recommend action on the YWCA's request for interim funding for the
Granny's infant/toddler program.
BACKGROUND
There continues to be an urgent need for affordable, good quality
childcare options for families with infants and toddlers in the City
of Vancouver. Over 60% of mothers with children under the age of
three years are now participating in the paid workforce on a full or
part-time basis, most of them out of financial necessity. Childcare
costs are now recognized as one of the top four items of a family
budget and for those families with infants and toddlers, monthly
childcare costs often exceed their monthly housing expenses. Yet
despite high user fees (monthly average for full-time care: $705 for
toddlers and $850 for infants), childcare operators are faced with
sizeable operating deficits. The provincial Infant/ Toddler Incentive
grant of $5 a day per licensed space, provides some relief but the
grant level has not kept up with actual costs. It is for this reason
that when the City embarked upon a childcare capital expansion
strategy through rezonings in new high density developments that a
Childcare Endowment Fund for start-up and ongoing infant/toddler
operating subsidies was also created.
In the Downtown Peninsula, the demand for infant/toddler care far
outstrips the services available. Waiting lists are so long that
families are now pressing to put their children on the list prior to
birth. The Childcare Co-ordinator also receives frequent calls asking
about the opening dates of the proposed False Creek North and Coal
Harbour facilities. It is within this context that the YWCA's
proposal for interim funding of the Granny Y's program should be
considered.
DISCUSSION
As noted in the attached YWCA proposal (see Appendix A), the Granny
Y's program, a 20 space infant/toddler facility, closed at the end of
December 1995 for several reasons:
1. The federal pre-employment funding which included a child care
component for young mothers, was in jeopardy.
2. The YWCA chose to transfer staff and remaining children over to
their new childcare centre in the Hornby Street location.
3. The Granny Y's premises required some renovations and
refurbishing.
4. The YWCA wished to reassess the program and funding requirements
of the Granny Y's program.
The YWCA is now proposing that Granny Y's be re-opened for an interim
period until the Roundhouse facility is ready for operation (currently
scheduled for September 1998). While the existing premises of Granny
Y's are cramped and the outdoor play space is of limited use, the YWCA
notes that much needed service could be offered to 20 - 30 families
living and/or working in the downtown core for the next two years.
To address the anticipated operating deficit of approximately $36,000
per year, the YWCA is requesting access to the Childcare Endowment
Funds through the same type of operating agreement as they have for
their new 24 space Leslie Diamond Childcare facility negotiated as
part of the Bentall V development.
This request raises some interesting dilemmas. On the one hand, the
re-opening of Granny Y's would clearly help to alleviate some of the
existing childcare deficit and certainly some of this demand has been
created by the new residential and retail development occurring in the
Downtown Peninsula. On the other hand, the money in the Childcare
Endowment Fund has been contributed by developers on the understanding
that it will be available to assist with the operating costs of the
new childcare facilities proposed for their developments. In
addition, draw-downs on the Child Care Endowment monies at this time,
will reduce the principal and erode the longevity of the overall Fund.
Yet the permanent closure of the Granny Y's program at this time,
given the critical shortage of infant/toddler spaces, seems untenable.
After considerable internal discussion, Social Planning is
recommending a course of action which allows the Granny Y's program to
be re-opened for at least one year and concurrently initiates
concerted action to address the larger service and funding issues of
infant/toddler care.
It is recommended that Council direct staff to draw up a childcare
operating agreement with the YWCA for the period September 1, 1996 to
August 31, 1997, which authorises payment of an infant/toddler subsidy
of up to $1,500 per space per annum; source of funds to be the
Childcare Endowment fund. This proposed operating subsidy level is
lower than the rate provided to the three new facilities eligible for
Childcare Endowment Funding and will require the YWCA to raise
additional funds or absorb administrative costs for the Granny Y's
program.
It is also recommended that Council direct staff to meet with the
appropriate representatives from senior levels of government, downtown
employers, and community funders to explore potential sustainable
funding strategies which address the need for affordable, good quality
childcare options for families with infants and toddlers. While at
first glance, it may seem naive to be expecting any results from
discussions with senior levels of government given the current climate
of fiscal restraint, the issue of infant/toddler care has strong links
to other issues which are on their agendas, specifically job creation,
youth employment, welfare restructuring and "at risk" children and
families. It is therefore anticipated that there will be
opportunities worth exploring and cultivating over the next year.
If Council approves these recommendations, staff will provide a
progress report to Council no later than April 1997 and at that time,
make any further recommendations specifically about the Granny Y's
program. The Childcare Co-ordinator would take on this work as a key
priority for the next nine months. Work already in progress on a
family daycare development strategy and a childcare cost analysis
project will be complementary.
CONCLUSION
The demand for infant/toddler care in the Downtown Peninsula far
exceeds the services currently available. The new facilities proposed
for False Creek North and Coal Harbour are not yet operational; the
first facility (Roundhouse) is scheduled to open in September 1998.
The YWCA has requested interim funding from the Childcare Endowment
Reserve to re-open the 20 space Granny Y's infant/toddler program. It
is recommended that an operating subsidy of up to $1,500 per space per
annum be provided for the period September 1, 1996 to August 31, 1997
while staff work with senior levels of government, downtown employers
and community funders to develop a long term, sustainable funding
strategy which addresses the need for affordable, good quality
childcare options for infants and toddlers.
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