Minister officially opens new daycare for N. Shore
The Daily News (Kamloops)
By: Cam Fortems
April 26, 2008 

The province's child care minister cut the ribbon Friday morning on a new North Kamloops centre that will house 25 more children.

Linda Reid also announced a $72,000 grant to a new licensed child care provider, Sheri Heide, who will open with 20 more spaces at a private residence.

But the minister acknowledged there are challenges with finding workers in the field.

Kamloops Infant Development Centre and Children's Circle daycare have been unable to fill their new buildings with children due to a shortage of workers.

Those two centres together received $600,000 of government money three years ago.

Reid said about 400 early childhood educators graduate in B.C. each year. Those graduates will soon come available to centres here and elsewhere….

But Reid's confidence in government programs to bring early childhood educators into the workforce is not shared by Vi-Anne Zirnhelt, incoming president of the Early Childhood Educators of B.C.

"We're running at about 54 per cent capacity," Zirnhelt said of the new Children's Circle building downtown, where she is executive director.

"We have a strong recruitment program on now. Of the grads from Thompson Rivers University, they all have jobs."

While Reid said she expects the $5,000 bonus will lure workers back to child care, Zirnhelt said she has not seen evidence.

"We haven't had one application from someone who wants to come back to the workforce."

Deedee Michels, a supervisor at the First Steps program, said the centre has not experienced difficulty retaining and attracting staff, including for its expansion and new building where the ribbon cutting was held Friday.

The program, focused on caring for children of young mothers who are obtaining a Grade 12 diploma, is funded differently. The ratio of caregivers to children is lower and days are shorter.

"We have a waiting list of about 21 families waiting to get in," Michels said of the First Steps program. "It's already filled for September."