TRU students say child care should use Bizpal approach
The Daily News (Kamloops)
April 15, 2008

A group of TRU students wants the province to adopt a model for childcare funding it already uses for business applications.

The idea for a single-window system for child care, to replace daycare funding applications done through four different ministries, is contained in a report by five Thompson Rivers University students…

The report is a semester-long project presented Monday evening to Children's Circle Daycare.

Patel said the group looked at two main themes. The first is process improvement, including the single-window approach, while the second involved coming up with a specific recruitment and retention strategy for the centre.

Children's Circle, like every child care agency in the city, is struggling to attract and maintain its workforce. It is opening a new $600,000 child-care centre on St. Paul Street this month with only half the workers it needs.

Business students surveyed employees at the centre as well as prospective early childhood educators in the program at TRU.

"For recruitment and retention we already identified they have a strong position in Kamloops," Patel said. "They're industry leaders and doing well. We wanted to highlight that and build on it."

That will mean more marketing at job fairs, for example, to attract staff.

The group conducted a cost-benefit analysis looking at staff turnover and whether it's cheaper to retain workers at a higher rate. It found the cost of training and bringing new staff up to full competency can be as high as $12,000 a year -- suggesting higher wages and improved benefits would be less than that cost.

Vi-Anne Zirnhelt, executive director of Children's Circle, said the board is eagerly awaiting the report and there is an openness to new ideas in light of its staff shortages.

The report also looks at attitudes of new workers, who may not see advantages in benefits that don't accrue for years to come.

"Their (young workers) whole focus is short-term," Zirnhelt said. "Maybe we, who've done things based on years of service, have to take a new look at it."

Patel also said the group looked at pay equity in child care, comparing it to pharmacy technicians and dental hygienists, who require about the same level of schooling.

Early child educators typically receive $10 to $15 an hour, while the comparable occupations receive about $20.