Government must restore CCRR funding
MetroValley Newspaper Group -- Chilliwack Progress
30 Jan 2007
Letters

I am very disappointed in the article in Saturday's Chilliwack Progress Daily regarding the closure of the Child Care Resource and Referral Program. Although the writer of the article spoke to Minister Linda Reid, they did not bother to talk to anyone on behalf of the CCRR. In the article Minister Reid states that the program has gone from a budget of $14 million to $9 million, what she fails to mention is that this budget will further be reduced to $3 million. She also does not mention that many CCRR's signed long term leases on buildings and vehicles at the urging of the government and these leases will now be bought out at a substantial cost, in some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars. These dollars could have better been spent on providing services. She also blames the federal government for canceling transfer payments meant for child care when it was her own government that slashed the child care budget by $40 million dollars in 2001 and BC has never regained that money at a time when the government is reported to have a large surplus in funds.

Minister Reid also states that the CCRR's primary function was to provide parent referrals. This is not true as the mandate of CCRR is to register and support License Not Required (LNR) child care providers. An LNR is someone who can care for 2 children plus her own. CCRR provides valuable resources and support to both LNR providers and Licensed Family Child Care Providers in the form of phone calls, workshops, referrals, drop in playgroups, networking opportunities and resource library which includes theme boxes and equipment such as car seats and play pens. I am a licensed family child care provider and it can be a lonely, demanding job. Without the support of Chilliwack Child Care Resource & Referral my job will become harder and I believe many child care providers will quit. There is already a severe shortage of child care spaces in BC and this will only make it worse.

The withdrawal of the support of the CCRR leaves child care providers stranded alone. The government needs to restore funding to Child Care and prove that the future of our children is important.