Region wants feedback as it looks to create a more inclusive child-care plan

Waterloo region has released phase one of a new child-care plan that aims to be more inclusive and now, staff want to hear feedback from the community.

Kristen Bustamante, manager of special projects for the region's children's services, said they wanted to respond to a growing number of parents who say they've had challenges accessing child care in the region, especially parents in communities who face additional barriers.

"We know we have a crisis in there in terms of the number of spaces and in terms of our workforce," she said. 

"We wanted to really respond to that and to really take some action on some of the things that we've heard and implement some new strategies to make accessing child care a little bit more equitable."

The Region of Waterloo oversees child care services locally and is in charge of policies and the distribution of funding.

Bustamante said even though the region closed its child care centres, it still operates a licensed home child care program with over 300 caregivers and 1,500 children.

Bustamante said under the first phase of region's new plan, they're trying to better understand how families learn about child care options, how they access them and who's not accessing them.

She added only 32 per cent of children in the region have access to child care and the implementation of the federal government's $10-a-day child-care program is helping expand the number of spaces available.

"We have about 920 more spaces and we're on track to open about 1,400 more spaces in by 2026," she said, adding more investments to get more workers is needed to staff those additional spaces.

Bustamante said the next step is to implement phase one of the plan and engage with parents and families to get their experience and recommendations for phase two.  

"We're going back to individual conversations with our community with parents and guardians and wanting their input either individually or as a group in a community," she said.

More information about the child care plan is on the region's website.

LISTEN | Region of Waterloo looking for community input on next phase of its inclusive child care plan:

The Morning Edition - K-W7:08Region of Waterloo looking for community input on next phase of its inclusive child care plan

Waterloo region is working on a child care plan to ensure no child is left behind. Phase one of the plan is out and now, the region wants your input on it. Manager of special projects for the region's children's services, Kristen Bustamante tells us more.