ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: October 21, 1999
Author/Local: Penny Coates/6042
RTS No. 1097
CC File No. 2402

CS&B: November 4, 1999

TO:	Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets
FROM:	Director of Community Services, Social Planning Department
SUBJECT:	1999 Childcare Grants Allocation - Report 3 of 3

RECOMMENDATION

A. THAT Council approve a $5,000 Program Development grant to Britannia Community Services Centre to assist with the non-capital costs of opening 40 spaces of out-of-school care in Grandview School. Source of funds: 1999 Childcare Grants Funds, 1999 Operating Budget;

B. THAT Council approve a grant of $20,675 to Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre for the facilitation of a series of think tank sessions to generate public discussion and feedback regarding the provincial government’s recently released options paper on childcare “Building A Better Future for British Columbia’s Kids”. Source of funds: Research, Policy development and Innovations category, 1999 Childcare Grants Funds, 1999 Operating Budget.

GENERAL MANAGER’S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services recommends approval of Recommendations A and B.

COUNCIL POLICY

On February 25, 1999, Council approved the 1999 allocation of $672,600 for the Childcare Grants Program. Approval of grant recommendations requires eight affirmative votes.

PURPOSE

This report makes recommendations for the final allocations for the 1999 Childcare grants program.

BACKGROUND

The February 25, 1999 Childcare Grants Ceiling Report identified the priorities and granting process for the two grant categories described in this report.

DISCUSSION

1. Program Development

This grant category was established in 1992 to assist with the non-capital costs associated with opening up a new or expanded non-profit, licensed childcare program. Up until 1998, staff regularly recommended one or two grants of up to $5,000 each under this category. However because the Province stopped guaranteeing that all new programs would be eligible for funding to support childcare staff wages, City staff suggested that City funding only be available under this category if provincial monies were secured.

Britannia Community Services Centre has been working closely with the Grandview Elementary School to expand the before and after school childcare spaces on the school site to complement the Kidsafe Program which operates in the school during Christmas, Spring Break and Summer holiday periods. Britannia has also successfully lobbied the provincial government to be eligible for the Childcare Compensation Contribution Program (CCP) which provides ongoing funding to assist with the wages of the childcare staff. The new childcare spaces at Grandview School are desperately needed as many of the Grandview students are known to be “latch-key”. It is therefore recommended that Council approve a $5,000 Program Development grant to assist Britannia with the non-capital costs of starting up 40 new childcare spaces.

2. Research, Policy Development and Innovations

The purpose of this grant is to encourage and support new childcare research, policy development or support service initiatives. In the 1999 grant ceiling report, it was recommended that any projects funded under this category focus on enhancing the sustainability and adaptability of childcare in Vancouver.

On October 21, 1999, the Ministry of Social Development and Economic Security (MSDES), which recently took over the provincial mandate for childcare from the Ministry for Children and Families, released an important options paper entitled “Building A Better Future for British Columbia’s Kids”. This paper (see attached media release in Appendix I) discusses a number of options for improving B.C.’s childcare system and asks for feedback and input from “parents, caregivers, agencies, stakeholders and concerned citizens” over the next three months. In light of the federal government’s recent focus on a National Children’s Agenda in the Throne Speech and their promise to discuss cost sharing of early childhood services with the Provinces within the Social Union framework, the provincial options paper becomes very significant.

Sustaining existing and new childcare services is an ongoing concern for Vancouver childcare operators and affordability issues have been a significant barrier for low and middle income parents across Vancouver. These challenges were highlighted for Council in a report this summer about infant/toddler care and the City’s Childcare Endowment Reserve. It is worth noting that the Vancouver Board of Trade in its recently released paper, “Investing in our Children is Good public Policy”, recognized the childcare funding difficulties and called for public funding of a comprehensive range of services, noting that a $ 5.3 billion annual investment would yield a positive economic return within five years. ( See attached Summary of Recommendations -Appendix II .)

It is the assessment of City staff that momentum around the childcare issue has reached a critical juncture and that Vancouver’s children and families would be well served by providing a formal mechanism for public responses to the provincial options paper. Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre has indicated its willingness to facilitate a series of think tank sessions in Vancouver to stimulate discussion and feedback to the Province’s proposed options. Therefore it is recommended that Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre be provided with a grant of $20,675 for costs associated with organizing and facilitating these sessions. This work fits with the expectations under this grant category.

3. City response to the MSDES options paper

It is suggested that the City Childcare Co-ordinator attend all of the proposed think tank sessions and report back to Council on the discussions and outcomes. At that time, staff will also make recommendations to Council about an appropriate City response to the Province’s document.

CONCLUSION

The Director of Community Services, Social Planning recommends approval of:

- 1 Program Development grant of $5,000 to Britannia Community Services Centre
- 1 Research, Policy Development and Innovations grant of $20,675 to Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre.

These are the final allocations under the 1999 Childcare Grants budget. No funds are remaining. (See Appendix III).

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British Columbia

NEWS RELEASE

Ministry of Social Development and Economic Security
Oct. 21, 1999
1999: 58

BUILDING A BETTER FUTURE FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA’S KIDS

VANCOUVER - A discussion paper being released today called Building a Better Future for British Columbia’s Kids outlines the challenges facing child care in British Columbia said Social Development and Economic Security Minister Moe Sihota and Women’s Equality Minister Jenny Kwan.

The 24-page document sets out a range of possible child-care programs and the costs and benefits of each one. Parents, child-care providers, social agencies, ethnic associations, business, labour and other levels of government are invited to engage in public discussions and provide advice to the government on the options that they prefer.

“Child care and family-friendly workplace policies are vital for families today,” said Kwan. “For children, quality care forms a foundation for success in school and later in life, and it also helps parents support and provide for their children. But many families are having difficulty finding and affording the quality child care they need.”

“Reductions in the Canada Health and Social Transfer over the last five years together with other federal funding policies have resulted in $800 million in reduced federal transfers to B.C.,” said Sihota. “We want the federal government to use its current budget surplus to restore Canada Health and Social Transfer funding and to honour its Red Book commitment to a national child care program.”

Sheila Davidson, chair of the Provincial Child Care Council, said the discussion paper clearly outlines the current reality of child care in B.C.

“It sets out some first steps towards enhancing the current system of parent subsidy and wage top-up for child care workers,” Davidson said.

“What it does not do is offer B.C. children and families a comprehensive range of affordable and accessible choices. We urge Minister Sihota to work with his federal counterpart and all stakeholders to give B.C. families a high quality and affordable range of child care options.

“We pledge to work with him every step of the way toward that goal,” Davidson said.

The provincial government spends $188 million annually on child care while parents pay $1.35 billion. The number of licensed child-care spaces has grown by almost 60 per cent since 1992, and the number of children receiving child-care subsidies has more than doubled to 34,000.

“That’s a big improvement, but it still means that there are only 66,000 licensed spaces for 65,000 children under the age of 13 in the province,” Kwan said. “Almost 80 per cent of women aged 25-44 are in the workforce. Many of them are mothers. That’s the reality.”

Copies of Building A Better Future for British Columbia’s Kids will be available through public libraries, child-care resource centres, MLA constituency offices, offices of the Ministry of Social Development and Economic Security, the Ministry for Children and Families, the Ministry of Women’s Equality, government agents and at http://www.sdes.gov.bc.ca on the Internet.

The provincial document was released one week after the federal government made promises of improvements for children in the federal throne speech.

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BACKGROUNDERS

Media Relations Manager
Communications Branch
Telephone: (250) 387-1412

Chris Gainor
Media Relations
Cell Phone: (250) 889-2286

The Vancouver Board of Trade

TASK FORCE ON EARLY CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND CHILD CARE
INVESTING IN OUR CHILDREN IS GOOD PUBLIC POLICY
JULY, 1999

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

That public policy make investment in early child development for children aged 0-6 years a spending priority.

· That the Year 2000 Federal Budget be developed as the ‘Children’s Budget’.

· That funding for this initiative be from reallocation of spending priorities, not increased tax revenues.

· That early child development centres for all children aged 0-6 years be established which have the following characteristics:

_Are affordable;
_Are accessible to all families;
_Are available for voluntary use by families;
_Are staffed by qualified early childhood tea
_Offer age appropriate developmental programs;
_Provide a wide range of parenting education;
_Are culturally appropriate for all children;
_Have hours of operations to care for children of working parents;
_Have links to service for children with special needs;
_Are in a variety of settings including homes;
_Are licensed or regulated;
_Include children of working and stay at home parents;
_Cost parents no more than 20 per cent of actual cost on a sliding scale; and
_Are free for families earning under $40,000 per year.

· That communities be supported to develop this framework of centres based on existing infrastructure.

· That the centres be phased in over a five-year period starting in 2000 with the oldest age and decreasing to youngest, so that adequate numbers of early childhood education teachers can be trained.

· That a public awareness and education campaign be supported focused on the value of early childhood development.

We support the vision outlined in the document “A National Children’s Agenda.”³¹
“Canadians want their country to be one where all children thrive in an atmosphere of love, care and understanding, valued as individuals in childhood and given opportunities to reach their full potential as adults... Given the opportunity to develop their physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual capacities to their fullest, children will become tomorrow’s successful and enthusiastic parents, caregivers, workers and citizens.”

Grant Category	Date of Report to Council	Proposed 1999 Funding	Recommended to Date
City-Wide Support Services	July	$248,850	$248,825
Administration of City-owned Facilities	July	$64,750	$64,100
Research, Policy Development & Innovations	May/July/December	$20,000	$20,675
Program Development	May/July/December	$0	$5,000
Inner-City Sustaining	July	$214,000	$213,000
Program Enhancement	July	$120,000	$121,000
Program Stabilization	as required	$5,000
TOTAL:		$672,600	$672,600
BALANCE:			$0

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver