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Citygate daycare may get reprieve, but childcare situation remains underfunded, squeezed

May 27th, 2010 · 19 Comments

This is not news to any parent with children under school age, but the childcare situation in the city (province/country) continues to be the equivalent of an unseen Hurricane Katrina, an ongoing disaster that never seems to get fixed. My son is 27 now so I’m well past the childcare stage, but I’ll never forget the sense of complete desperation that finding childcare used to induce or the relief when there actually seemed to be sane, rational, affordable help provided. The then $35-a-week all-day summer daycamps provided by the park board was one of the positives.

I still find it odd the way governments pour money into so many other endeavours, but nurturing children between the ages of zero and five continues to be an area where parents are left to flounder in the open seas with such restricted help.

Categories: Uncategorized

  • Joe Just billJoe

    This is something I haven’t got yet and I’m hoping one of the readers can point out where my math is missing.
    At the current billing rates of ~$1000/month why is there a lack of space? A typical day will have ~20 infant/toddlers and ~30 3-5yr olds that will provide a monthly billing of close to $50K. With a staff of ~8 looking after the kids (and they certainly don’t get paid very much) I don’t see why the private sector isn’t openly them up by the bunches.

    Is the issue that few parents can’t afford those prices and are dependant on the subsidies which are limited? Or even if you are willing to pay full price is there no spaces?

  • spartikus

    Or even if you are willing to pay full price is there no spaces?

    It’s spaces.

    We started applying for spots when my wife was 5 months pregnant and we’re still on the waiting list of some places. My daughter is nearly 6.

    I’ve lined up at 3am and 5am for spots.

  • spartikus

    I’ve lined up at 3am and 5am for spots.

    Just to clarify – this would be for Kindercare and after school care respectively.

  • Dan Cooper

    When my son and I moved to Vancouver, there were no childcare spaces available at any price (other than hiring a nanny), and none expected to come available for at least three years at the one centre anywhere near his elementary. Likewise, when I asked around for home-based childcare providers, no one could give me any kind of lead; apparently they simply don’t exist in our area! Fortunately, the boy was just old enough by then to get by on his own after school, with a cell phone and a safety plan, though it wouldn’t have been my first choice. Otherwise, I suppose we would have had to just move back out of town. I imagine that for a lot of people, this kind of thing keeps them from being able to work.

    As others, I find the whole thing odd. My son was in daycare or after school care in three US cities (one university town of about 100 thousand, one agricultural/governmental town of 150 thousand, and a metropolitan city of a couple million), and I could also find either a centre or home based care, or in the big city whichever I wanted. None of these, be it said, were subsidized other than in one case (YMCA school-based care) through the organization’s non-profit/charitable status.

  • Michael Geller

    I think it is time for a full review of the design requirements, approval process, operating guidelines and economics of building and operating daycare facilities in Vancouver. For years I have thought something was terribly wrong and this, and other recent stories reinforce this.

    If you think social housing is expensive to build, just check out the cost of building new childcare in Vancouver. The cost is over $100,000 a space …. some new facilities cost four and five million dollars, according to the staff reports supporting new developer built childcare as community amenities.

    In fact, other than the Olympic Village Childcare Facilities, I am not aware of any new childcarecentre that was not built by a developer as part of a new project.

    I’m not sure if the rules have changed, but when I was involved with the childcare facility at Bayshore, not only did we have to design and build it, (including its own underground parking) at no cost to the city, we also had to contribute over $100,0000 to cover start-up expenses.

    However, even with the developer building the facilities and handing them over at no cost, new facilities are difficult to operate at an acceptable cost level.

    I am told that the combination of provincial and special city operating requirements and procedures are a large part of the problem. They simply make it too expensive to build and operate any new facilities.

    Some have proposed other options, such as new smaller facilities for say 6 to 12 children in a small space designed as part of a new townhouse or apartment development. However, although these operate informally, I’m told they are not sanctioned and therefore not permitted, not only in Vancouver but also in Burnaby, and perhaps elsewhere.

    Just as the high design and operating standards are discouraging new social housing, the same thing is happening to childcare, especially in Vancouver. In the past, no one wanted to take on ‘the childcare lady’ and argue for ‘lower standards’…so the result is virtually no new units being built by the city (other than SEFC. Perhaps Joe Just Joe or someone can find out how much that project cost per childspace. I suspect we’ll all be flabbergasted.)

    I understand there is an organization of childcare owners and operators…the Y has been very involved although is having to get out of some facilities….let’s get a ‘commission’ of interested parties to carry out a full review. I am confident the results could lead to improvements in the current situation.

  • Sharon Gregson

    The comments above speak perfectly to the great need for child care and the huge complexity of the issue. I read above lots of good will and interest in suggesting solutions but believe me – if it were that easy to “fix” the childcare “problem” – advocates over the last 30 years would have been there and one that by now!

    Currently children under the age of 36 months are licensed in groups of 12, children from 3-5 years are licensed in groups of 25, and school age in typically groups of 30. Ratios for young children are 1 staff to 4 children, for preschoolers 1:8 or 1:10 and school age at 1:10 or 1:15. Believe me it gets more complicated.

    We should be congratulating the City of Vancouver, past and present Councils, for their commitment to high quality and their creativity in extracting funds from developers to ensure child care facilities are built.

    However, child care is a provincial responsibility and our Liberals in Victoria don’t seem too interested in building a system to meet the needs of children, working mothers, and families. Even after 9 years in power we still don’t have a plan on how to move forward. Quality child care remains a matter of luck for most families, and the mostly women providing the care and generally not well paid and have poor benefits and no pension plan. This despite our rhetoric that they are caring for our future!!

    There’s lots more to say but don’t want to take up too much space here !!

  • Dianne G

    There are many challenges BUT all quite dooable as other countries have demonstrated over and over. We need facilities that will ensure quality environments. The research shelves on quality design are full! And if you have been involved in building a school/community centre lately, you know it is a costly undertaking just like it is to build hospitals, roads, athletic facilities etc.

    Sustainable dollars for operational costs are worth every penny – once again the research says it all. We don’t need to reinvent this wheel.

    Some municipalities and BC and Canada have undertaken many inquiries/commissions and contributed to many studies already. The shelves are full! The recomendations are plentiful.

    What we need is political will that lasts more than one governing term, at all levels, to actually create and sustain a range of quality non-profit child care programs and services that support children and families.

    We know the stats about the numbers of children who need/want child care across BC/Canada. We know that in order to work to support families and contribute to our economy, families need access to quality child care.We know the benefits for us all.

    We know the services MUST be affordable. And we know that like other educators, child care staff need training and living wages/benefits.

    As we always say about any government spending, where there is political will, there is a way!

  • spartikus

    Other countries offer both positive models worth emulating…and negative models to be avoided.

    I’ve said it in this forum before: in an economy where for the vast majority of the population both parents must work, it’s vital to have a national childcare policy.

  • grumbelschmoll

    The cost of building and operating childcare is largely the cost imposed by licensing. The people who craft the rules have only the good of children at heart, not the good of society. Whether society can afford licensed facilities is irrelevant to them.

  • Wendy

    I have two kids under 5 in a great licensed family daycare. However, it took a couple years and luck before we landed 2 spots there.

    The daycare providers I have had (past and present), have commented on how challenging the rules and regulations are–many that have little to do with the health and safety of kids.

    For example, you have to have x square feet of outside space per child (sorry, can’t recall the exact number) but it cannot be covered (such as under a patio or a fenced in carport) despite the fact that this is a better play space as it provides shelter from rain as well as from the sun. And it doesn’t seem to matter if you’re across the street from a playground, this outside space must be on your property.

    If a licensed family provider wants to expand and be entrepreneurial, and open a group daycare, which would not only create more spaces but bring in more revenue as the first commenter suggested, this is not easy. I know highly-qualified people who battled the system for years before giving up.

    Perhaps the city needs to appoint a “child care advocate” whose role it is to see how the city can say “yes” instead of “no” to qualified applicants with legitimately good business plans for opening more spaces. Be a problem solver instead of a problem creator.

    And all this was only about under 5 care. After-school care is another nightmare.

  • Glissando Remmy

    The Thought of The Day

    “Just in! MSM stands for Mainstream Maggots.”

    You will not read about the real problems of a city, a province or a country in the mainstream media. No Siree, Bob! They are all lies anyway. And we already know, the truth doesn’t glitter and shine, doesn’t sell papers. Crap sells papers.But for the sake of the argument let’s take a journey in TODAY’s NEWS.

    DAY CARE; NIGHT CARE; NIGHTMARE!

    6th or 7th year in a row as Champions in Child Poverty…British Columbia. Yes, the province of the Olly Games… Adequate Daycare in the City of Vancouver is only similar to the Mirage of Affordable Housing and that of Honest Politicians. At least in Las Vegas they built a hotel with that name.When there, if you say ‘I’m heading towards the Mirage’ chances are you’ll get to your room! In Vancouver ‘please fill out this form and we’ll call you when a space becomes available’ is the polite way of saying ‘GOOD LUCK TO YOU’. By the time they call you, little Timmy will have kids of his own. Then let’s not talk about street homelessness and the drug trade. But what do we read in the MSM TODAY? Vancouver, BC, was named the fourth MOST LIVABLE city in the WORLD!
    And I for one, rest my case.

    STUPID AND STUPIDER

    Having a Billboard covered in 22 Carat Gold in order to advertise a tiny display on the second floor at Science World, where kids can pan for ‘flax seeds’ sized gems in the mud, or look at the gold nugget that sits behind a glass display and photos of donkeys and people in suspenders… is STUPID. Having a security guard, all pumped up and ready to go, guarding an UNSTEALABLE GOLDEN DUST billboard is…STUPIDER! I am not impressed. As a Science World Member, who’ve already seen the display just recently and was not impressed, I have this to say: ‘Gold Rush. On DVD. 11$ at HMV. Charlie Chaplin. Screen it! Inside the sphere. Now.’

    A MATTER OF PERCEPTION

    You go “dressed to kill”: turban, beard, dagger, remote control, and blow up an Oil Tanker in the Gulf of Mexico… International TERRORISM. You are a Corporation responsible for probably the most catastrophic oil spill and loss of life in the recent times, due to negligence, corrupt practices and greed…ACCIDENT.
    What is British Petroleum saying about this?… ‘¡Ay, caramba!’

    THREE…PENNY. WEILL. BRECHT.

    http://www.threepennyopera.org/

    Let’s not talk in the MSM too much, about the 500,000$ per MP head embezzlement, practiced by some of our MPs. That was for yesterday only. No, let’s pick instead on our poor copper penny. Getting rid of the penny is the answer, the politicians are saying. There you go! That’s where all the savings were! The politicians want to get rid of the penny so badly, they can’t wait. I say, get rid, get rid of them all! Get rid of the Penny, and of the juicy Gregquarter, of the Meggnickel, and of the Raymondime. Sure, why not, get rid of all the Looneys too. Sorry I meant no disrespect, Loonies.

    LOST AND FOUND AD ON CRAIGLIST

    “Lost in Vancouver. Looking for Global Warming. No, really! Reward $$$ offered. Send E-mail in confidence to:
    suz&[email protected]”

    We live in Vancouver and this keeps us busy.

  • Joe Just Joe

    I’ve always wondered why the city doesn’t allow daycares on it’s own parksites. Most parks have these derelict caretaker buildings that all look like they need to be rebuilt. Rebuild them with daycares and have them run by VSOCC. Takes care of the outdoor space requirements, the city already owns the land, there is a park in every neighbourhood so they are easily accessible. Seems like a no brainer to me. Developers would be able to contribute more cash as they wouldn’t have to give up the space on their own parcels.

  • Eric

    I think burn out among preschool/day care workers is a big factor in the lack of day care spaces. It’s hard work (and very important work) that pays next to nothing.
    But definitely the process of building a care facility is expensive and lessens the supply. Institutional space or space that allows day care (and indepedent schools) is hard to find. I had some experience with this while on the board of a small school in |Vancouver. Both the licensing process for our building was challenging, and we were unable to move do to a lack of space elsewhere. Eventually we sub let one room of our school to another school.

  • spartikus

    For example, you have to have x square feet of outside space per child (sorry, can’t recall the exact number) but it cannot be covered (such as under a patio or a fenced in carport) despite the fact that this is a better play space as it provides shelter from rain as well as from the sun.

    The City of Vancouver Childcare Design Guidelines lists a requirement for Group Daycares of 12 spaces or more of both covered outdoor and uncovered outdoor. The requirement for access to enclosed play area with direct sunlight is stipulated in provincial regulations. I don’t know the details of this particular case, of course, but if it’s a case of a small daycare wanting to expand to 12 spaces and it wants to substitute a carport instead of true outdoor space…well that’s a standard I would not support. A carport that is simply a roof and no walls is a rarity too.

    It’s certainly beginning to seem like most people are question the requirements and regulation. I think the question you should be asking yourselves is why our society places such a low priority on the quality of the care of our early aged children – especially when the vast majority of studies indicate these are key years in their development. (This carries over in to the compensation daycare workers receive, btw)

    Why is the instinct to step down, when we should be stepping up.

  • Sean Bickerton

    Speaking of stepping up, one space that applied for licensing was turned down because it was on two floors, so the kids had to walk up and down stairs. With obesity a growing epidemic, isn’t that regulation bizarre? Kids love to run up and down stairs.

    Following up on Michael Geller’s comment above, even a cursory look at the issue finds bureaucracy has run amok, common sense has been lost and families are the victims.

    Kudos to Patsy McMillan and Fern Jeffries of the False Creek Residents Association for their work trying to save the Citygate childcare facility.

  • spartikus

    isn’t that regulation bizarre

    Not if your child is in a wheelchair.

    That said, I don’t see mention of this requirement in either the CoV or provincial guidelines I posted above.

    There might be more to the story in your example (was the 2nd floor enclosed, or was it open to the first floor, etc).

  • Michael Geller

    “Why is the instinct to step down, when we should be stepping up.”

    Joe, I would like to say that you are right. However, we have been ‘stepping up’ in terms of design standards and operating guidelines over the past few years, to the extent that virtually no new facilities are being created.

    Can you tell me of any new childcare facilities, other than the City facility at SEFC that werw created by someone other than a developer as a community amenity facility for his project?

    Could you dig out the file for the new facility being incorporated in the new development at Homer and Robson, and check out the staff estimates of the costs…they are mindblowing!

    It’s not just the standards…it’s the whole process….it’s all so bloody difficult as well. (Even more difficult than getting a public art project approved.)

    Again, most of us do not want to complain about this, because we don’t want to seem heartless or not caring. But the result is, no one, to the best of my knowledge is building new market or non-market facilities in Vancouver. But childcare facilities are being built in other cities in North America and around the world.

    You’re probably right…there may not be a requirement related to the situation Bickerton referred to…but somehow this issue either held up or prevented a project from proceeding.

    And yes, a project with stairs may prevent a child in a wheelchair from attending…I say ‘may’ since the kid could be carried…but the result is thousands of able bodied kids have no where to go. What is better?

    I agree that we do not devote enough money to early childhood development. My sister is currently involved in an interesting initiative called KidCare Canada and I recently participated in an event with experts from UBC and elsewhere on the absolutely essential need to provide better early childhood development for children. I’m convinced that if we were more successful, we’d have less people on the streets 15 years later.

    But it’s not just a matter of provincial funding and priorities…it’s much more. And I think it would be beneficial if more stories were told about the experiences of different groups trying to create and operate more childhood spaces.

  • spartikus

    However, we have been ’stepping up’ in terms of design standards and operating guidelines over the past few years, to the extent that virtually no new facilities are being created.

    Ok. But that leads to “which specific guidelines would you relax”.

    the new development at Homer and Robson

    I’m completely out of my depth on things like this, so I’ll defer to your (and others) expertise in the subject of building costs. But in a city of towers…it strikes me daycare space, amongst other things, must be required of developers.

    Conversely, the government must get in to the business of childcare and build specialized facilities, as we build schools.

    Higher taxes to pay for it? Bring it on.

    But it’s not just a matter of provincial funding and priorities…it’s much more.

    I don’t disagree. Other countries, such as Sweden in the example I provide above, guarantee childcare. I’m not one of those who believes everything Scandinavian is good, but it’s worth looking at.

  • landlord

    @Spartikus : “Higher taxes to pay for it? Bring it on”.
    Uh-oh. Sadly, we will be paying those higher taxes to eliminate the structural deficit built into the federal budget by excessive borrowing. We can’t support the inadequate system which we have and we can’t borrow any more to buy a big, new expensive (unionized) system like the cases you cited.
    The immediate future holds higher taxes (despite the Dutchman’s Folly), higher interest rates, increased unemployment and growing poverty and homelessness, just to keep service levels where they are. If we’re lucky.
    I could be wrong. We could be on the threshold of cashing in on the new green economy in a city where holistic health practices, corporate social responsibility and ethical growth result in a model for a sustainable future, a beacon of hope to other struggling municipalities an example of enlightened public policy which serves as a model to the world. But I doubt it.