Nowhere to Turn; Looking to ensure their little treasures are well taken care of while they grind away at making a living, parents of young children in our area are facing challenges that is putting tremendous pressure on the family unit
Nelson Daily News
April 3, 2008
By: Hannah Wright

Having children is supposed to be one of the great joys in life right?

We all know it's not going to be smooth sailing, but when the maternity leave is spent and it's time to go back to work, the last thing parents want is a dilemma.

However in the West Kootenay, as the current situation stands, you can pretty much guarantee facing a big fat problem.

It's the opinion of many experts and frontline parents and workers in our community that the B.C. childcare system is in crisis.

Research has shown that there is a distinct lack of spaces available for children whose parents need childcare, this problem being most evident in the infant and toddler stages.

The existence and availability of good quality childcare in a community affects everybody -- whether you're a parent or not; and without it, detrimental effects spread throughout both the social and economical threads of society.

Here in Nelson there are many that are concerned that these affects are already being seen in our community and will have some serious long-term outcomes if nothing is done….

Genevieve Lachance is so desperate to find childcare for her 18-month-old son that she has reverted to putting a sign out on her lawn and soliciting her hockey teammates for help.

Now just days away from returning to work her situation is getting dire...

"The whole thing has been an absolute nightmare... I'm only going back to work for two days a week and there is just nothing available in Nelson."

This is just one example of many parent's stories in the area that read with the same desperate tinge

Eighty per cent of parents in the West Kootenay are having trouble finding the childcare they need, according to a childcare survey completed in November 2006. The key issue being that there simply aren't enough spaces available in the childcare network for the ratio of kids that need it.

The vast majority of registered childcare providers are fully booked, and many have waiting lists that just continue to grow with time; some parents never get a space until their child has grown out of the age range for that group.

However, the problem extends beyond the quantity of spaces available, to the quality of registered daycares. Some parents have reported finding spaces at a daycare where they did not feel they could leave their children.

"When we began looking for childcare for my son we called the Kootenay Kids Society who gave me a list of childcare providers to try," said Lachance.

"Out of all the places on the list only one had a space available for one day a week... I went to have a look but there was little light and no windows and I just didn't feel comfortable leaving him there, so we continue to look," she said.

Those working at the Kootenay Kids Society offer help and resources to parents looking for childcare, but the lack of spaces often mean there's nothing they can do.

"I spoke to someone on the phone last week who manages one of our local coffee roasters and she wants to go back to work, her employer wants her to come back to work, and is supporting her in every way to get back into the job because they value that person, but the mom can't find childcare... people are constantly calling us being stuck in those situations," said Rebecca Wheeler, Family Place Manager at Kootenay Kids Society.

Those working at the Nelson area's provincially-funded Child Care Resource and Referral Program (CCRR) which runs out of the Kootenay Kids Society, know better than anyone the challenges faced by both childcare providers and parents in the area, as they deal with all registered childcare providers and parents looking for childcare.

"We're getting a majority of phone calls from parents looking for care for the 15 months to two and a half years olds - so there's a huge need in the Nelson area for infant and toddler care," said Aanyta Fahtenbruch, Coordinator for the West Kootenay CCRR program…..

WAITING... AND WAITING

Every day, Michelle Cushway, Director of Care to Learn Children's Centre, faces the hard task of telling desperate parents that there just isn't any room for their child and that all she can do is add them to an already extensive wait list.

"Sometimes the children on the wait list for our infant and toddler program don't even get a space before they grow out of the age bracket... it's becoming increasingly hard to offer parents the daycare that they need for their child," she says.

According to a childcare survey in 2006 on childcare centres in the West Kootenay, 10 out of 16 centres reported having waitlists of up to two years depending on the age of the child.

Waitlists are becoming such a problem in the area that parents are joining waitlists as soon as they find out they are pregnant.

Toni Hoyland, president of the Early Childhood Educators of BC (ECEBC) told the Daily News she often hears stories of parents offering big buck donations to childcare providers in exchange for a hike up on the waiting list.

"That's a desperate thing to do because these parents and many others are desperate," said Hoyland.

"We also have a large number of employers calling our childcare programs saying they will do anything to get a spot for their employee, but there will often be 40 people ahead of them on the waiting list and there's just nothing that can be done," said Hoyland.

There are instances where some parents are able to get to the front of waiting lists, such as Rebecca Wheeler at Kootenay Kids, but she feels this is destroying Nelson's community sense...

"I was on a wait list at the facility that I'm in now... the only reason I was able to get my child into day care is because I worked for the society that ran the program... so because I had seniority I was able to get onto the list right away which meant that I bumped other parents out of childcare," said Wheeler.

"Parents are struggling for the same spots for their children and it's an odd thing for Nelson especially because people are so community minded over here," she said.

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

If and when parents are lucky enough to find suitable childcare in the area, they get hit with a second blow... parent fees.

The running and survival of the B.C. child care system relies predominantly on parent fees which means the increased lack of funding being pumped into the system falls onto the backs of parents.

"For parents making the money that many minimum wage jobs pay in this area, they often find it close to impossible to go back to work when they are forced to pay such a high rate for day care," said Wheeler.

Back in Québec, parent Genevieve Lachance says childcare would cost her between $5 and $7 per day, but in Nelson she's shelling out $380 per month in parent fees to keep her four-year-old daughter in childcare for just two days a week.

"For me and my partner it's okay because we have good jobs, but for many people I don't know how they can afford this... In Quebec childcare is much more subsidized so there's more of an incentive for parents to go back to work."

How are parents surviving without finding childcare?

Without any upcoming solutions to the ongoing problem of childcare - parents still have to make do.

Whether it means not going back to work and relying on financial support from the government, or changing jobs, or even leaving your children with someone or somewhere that you're not entirely comfortable with, many of these parents don't have a choice.

Georgia Argyle originally moved to Nelson in 2007 with her young son to continue her career as a masseuse. However it soon became clear that with Nelson's void in daycare, she had to make a change...

"What I ended up doing for childcare is running an at-home pre-school in order to be able to take care of my son because there wasn't available care for my son during the hours I really needed it, not to mention it would take up the majority of what I was being paid," she said.

When her child did reach school age, her problems continued when she discovered a distinct lack in after-school childcare. She originally relied on play dates with his classmates, before being forced to make another career change where she could be there for her son during the hours he was not at school.

"I now work for an internet-company based in Nelson that allows me to choose my hours," she said.

Genevieve Lachance, like many others will rely on a friend to help out so that she can go back to work until a more viable solution becomes available.

However, a lot of people can't make do and have no back-up plan if the childcare they want and need is unavailable.

This is proven by the fact that 63 per cent of parents in the West Kootenay have turned down work or have missed work because they couldn't find childcare, according to a survey completed in November 2006….