Mission does not have enough daycare facilities to meet the community’s demand, and parents are being turned away from child placement organizations like the Childcare Resource and Referral Centre.

“We averagely place probably between 45 to 50 families a month. That’s how many calls we receive,” said Laura Hope, the centre’s program coordinator.

These days, they are turning people away “all the time, especially for children three and under,” she said.

“The caregivers that we do have in Mission are extremely high quality — we just need more of them.”

Laura Wilson, the project coordinator for Mission’s Early Childhood Development and Understanding the Early Years, said there are under 500 registered daycare spots for about 2,500 children under the age of six in the district (not including “underground” daycare centres, those not certified by the Ministry of Health or registered with the resource centre).

Communities particularly in need of more licensed daycares are Hatzic, Deroche, and Silverdale, said Hope.

“I think over 70 per cent of both parents work, and that’s not including single parents that have to work,” Wilson said.

And the demand for quality child care is getting higher as Mission grows, she added.

Unfortunately, “it is a bit of a hurdle to get licensed,” said Wilson, but she recommends taking on the challenge….

Hilborn’s struggle is indicative of how tricky it can be to get a residential child care centre up and running.

Fortunately for Hilborn, her knowledge of relevant bylaws, her passion for child care (Hilborn has been granted awards like the Derek East Award for Business Excellence), and the help of district staff enabled her to get the group license she needed.