City to explore creating more child-care spaces; Survey finds Fort St. John a 'hard-to-staff' location
Alaska Highway News
12 Apr 2007
By: Christopher Sun

The lack of day care in Fort St. John is causing problems for a number of employers, according to a child-care assessment survey conducted in the city.

City council received a 25-page report prepared by Kathleen O'Neill & Associates Tuesday. It summed up the findings from interviews with 20 employers, ultimately recommending a business plan be drawn up by the City for creating more child-care spaces.

"Many employees in Fort St. John struggle to balance their work and home lives, specifically relating to child care," said the report. "For many businesses and organizations, Fort St. John is considered a 'hard-to-staff' location."

The City had wanted to find out if businesses would be interested in partnering with the City to create more child-care spaces, but the interviews revealed many businesses wanted to see a more concrete plan before they would commit.

One participant in the survey has already tried to create child-care spaces for its employees but came up against a common brick wall in Fort St. John: lack of staff for a child-care facility.

Oil and Gas Commission employees raised money, matched by the OGC, for a new day care with reserved spots for children of OGC staff, said spokesperson Steve Simons. But the $20,000 was returned, as there would have been no one to staff the new facility or additional kids.

"Staffing is the issue," Simons said, "finding the right people with the right training."

At the OGC, there are currently two mothers working non-traditional hours to accommodate their child-care issues and another two whose maternity leaves have ended but who have not returned to work because of child-care issues.

At Urban Systems, child care hasn't been a big issue so far, but branch manager Rob Close anticipates a baby boom at the company soon due to the age of the employees. The company would consider working with the City to create space....

Presently the company allows staff to bring their kids in to work if no alternative can be found. Close himself has brought his own kids to work, having them sit at his desk colouring for a few hours.

City staff will continue with the day-care needs assessment and report back to council again....