Information will aid lobby effort

Child care advocates in Victoria launched a telephone blitz Wednesday aimed at compiling an accurate report on wait lists and waiting times for the Capital Region’s estimated 500 day-care operations.

“We don’t have a lot of information yet, but we’ve already found day cares with 200 people on the wait list. It makes you wonder why they don’t stop at 100,” Elliott said, adding that low turnover appears to be another challenge.

“There are lots of people who have been there from the time their kids are babies to the time they’re five, so not many spots open up.”

Wednesday’s survey, an initiative of the Victoria Regional Child Care Council which is chaired by Elliott, involved about eight volunteers calling every available licensed day care in the region.

The group also plans to hold a phone-in campaign next Wednesday where parents with day care challenges can relay their stories to volunteers.

Volunteers will be stationed at the Community Social Planning Council offices on View Street from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Aug. 1.

Parents who are unable to call in can also e-mail their stories to Enid Elliott at eelliot@uvic.ca, or to fellow researcher Heather Peeters at hpeeters@uniserve.com.

Elliott said the information will be compiled within a couple of weeks and used to support demands for more training spaces and higher wages for day-care workers.

“Politicians really seem to respond to these kinds of personal stories,” she said.

Childcare advocates say a lack of training and low wages make it difficult for providers to find and keep qualified staff. They are also concerned about recent changes to federal child care subsidies, including the cancellation of the federal national child care program and its replacement with $100-per-month cash payments to all parents of children aged six or under.

Those claims are supported by a recently completed study by the Partnership for Learning and Advocacy for Young Children, part of a federal government project known as “Understanding the Early Years.”

The report cited “retention and recruitment of staff, availability of spaces and availability of funds” as three main areas of concern for the child-care community.