85 per cent of Simcoe County's child care providers opt-in to $10/day program
Child care providers across Ontario have until the end of the day to opt-in for the national $10-a-day program.
According to Simcoe County, 85 per cent of its more than 200 child care providers have submitted applications for the program.
"We know how important this is for parents and what kind of help that will give them in their household financially," said Kim Yeaman, director of Simcoe Childcare Services.
The province extended the deadline from Sept. 1 to Nov. 1 to allow operators more time to sign up.
For Yeaman, that meant deciding to submit an application. For parents like Michelle Maldonado, it means a 25 per cent reduction in fees retroactive to April 1.
By the end of the year, fees are set to reduce by an average of 50 per cent, with a goal of $10 per day by 2025.
"When it comes through, it will make a huge difference for us on our monthly budget," said Maldonado.
RELATED
- Child care operators concerned about opting-in to Ontario's $10-a-day program
- Child care deal raises concerns for centre operators hesitant to opt-in
But there is still a sense of uncertainty around Ontario's rollout, with funding guidelines for 2024 yet to be released.
Operators like Yeaman express concerns over future rising costs and inflation.
"March 2020, when COVID started, our fees were frozen, and they were frozen for a long time," said Yeaman. "During COVID, we received an enormous amount of support from all levels of government, so we never raised our fees. Now we are expected to run our child cares and be financially responsible with October 2022 expenses which everybody knows is much higher than it used to be."
Although there is no guarantee, the County said there is a process in place to work through those details.
"We recognize the cost of care is not declining or remaining static, so they do need to reach out to us to go through the process so that we can review what the additional costs are and provide the funding to cover all the reasonable expenses," said Samantha Zuercher, Simcoe County's early learning and child care manager.
Those negotiations, Yeaman said, still need to happen before she makes her final decision.
"I do not want to lessen the quality of my program, the quality of my food, the quality of what we do here too, so that funding really has to cover those expenses," said Yeaman. "I can't run a child care at a loss and still survive."
The County said there is still an approval process for providers who submitted an application.
"Within a certain period of time, we will get back to them to confirm if they are eligible or not and within an additional period of time, at most, it would be 30 days to confirm what their funding is and to provide them with a funding agreement," said Zuercher.
Providers who don't opt-in by the deadline can choose to do so next year, and those who do opt-in can opt-out at any time.
Ontario was the last province to ink a deal with Ottawa as part of its $30 billion national child care program.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Feds hope to table foreign interference legislation next week: LeBlanc
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to table legislation this week to help the federal government address foreign interference, but he wouldn't say whether the proposal will include a foreign agent registry.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
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.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.