Mom camps out for daycare spot
Richmond News
11 Apr 2008
Byline: Nelson Bennett

Last year, when Barb Hinds tried to get her son, Payton, enroled in a kindercare program at West Richmond Community Centre, nothing was available.

So when she found out that one precious space for the 2008-2009 school year comes up for grabs Friday, she wasn't about to take any chances.

With the zeal of die-hard fan camping out to get tickets to a one-off Led Zeppelin concert, Hinds has pitched a tent just outside West Richmond Community Centre. She has been there since Monday.

"I'm taking three days off of work," said the Richmond high school teacher, who works in Vancouver. "I need this daycare.

"I just knew, if the demand last year was that great, it's only going to get greater (this year). It's just become such a precious commodity."

Hinds is one of two parents who have been literally camping out at the community centre for the past few days in the hope of getting a single possible part-time slot currently available at the school.

… Working parents like Hinds and her husband are desperate to get in on the program, which costs $575 per month for kindercare and between $195 to $325 per month for variations of OSC for Grade 1-7.

Both Hinds and her husband work full-time, so they need both before and after school care for their son and will soon need it for their three-year-old daughter, Quincy.

Currently, they pay $500 per month for regular childcare services for Payton, plus they pay an additional $160 per month to have someone take him to and from daycare.

Similar programs are offered through other community centres in Richmond: Hamilton, South Arm and Cambie.

The West Richmond Community Centre program allows parents who work full-time to drop their kids off as early as 7 a.m. and pick them up by 6 p.m. Their kids are given breakfast and a bus ride to and from school.

But even more importantly, for Hinds, is the socialization and educational activities they get in the program.

"He's with kids he's actually going to school with," Hinds said. "I don't want my son going to someone's house and just watching TV. He's a five-and-a-half-year-old boy who needs running around."

An added bonus of the program is that, once you have a child enrolled, younger siblings become grandfathered.

That doesn't ensure they will get in, because there are space limitations. But if a space becomes available, parents whose children are already in the program get first dibs for their other children. Hinds is therefore hoping her three-year-old will be eligible for the program when she starts school.

Gina Ho, director of child care services for the community centre, said there is more demand for the program than money or space allows. "This is the reason why, next year, we're looking at a lottery system," she said.

There are 52 spots available for kindergarten through Grade 2, and 63 spots for Grade 3 to 6. Every year, parents put their names on wait lists. Many end up disappointed.

"We stop taking names after 20," Ho said.

Hinds said the childcare crunch in Richmond is being exacerbated by the closure of a number of daycare centres due to the added costs of renting school facilities.

Coun. Bill McNulty was shocked to learn there were so few slot available for the 2008-2009 school year in the West Richmond kindercare program.

"It's a pity she (Hinds) has to go to such an extent to ensure her child gets in," he said.

McNulty said one of the problems with childcare is the way it is now funded.

… With Richmond's population growing by leaps and bounds, McNulty said the child-care crunch will only get worse, if governments at all levels don't address the problem.

"I think it's something we need to address," he said.