Funding for Child Care Referral
Cariboo Press -- Kootenay News Advertiser
April 27, 2007

Earlier this month, East Kootenay MLA Bill Bennett announced that funding to the East Kootenay Child Care Resource and Referral centre in Cranbrook (CCRR) would be restored to almost the full amount in last year's budget. In the 2007/08 fiscal year $183,000 will be available, only just under $3,500 less than the year before.

Rita Romeo, CCRR Program Coordinator, says while this is great news there will still have to be cuts to the programming. Romeo explains the year before CCRR had more than $200,000 at its disposal. The amount that was now approved brings the centre back to the level of 2005, but costs have gone up considerably since then.

... The CCRR is located in Cranbrook, but Romeo explains it has to cover the Elk Valley as well as parts of the Columbia Valley. She says the lack of money will mean that instead of traveling to each community four times a year for outreach meetings, CCRR staff will now have to cut down to three visits per year and one instead of two regional conferences. Travel for home visits and offering toy lending services to the outlying communities are also down to three times per year....

Romeo acknowledges that there are still further issues to be resolved in the child care field and she urges families to let their local representatives know.