Whistler Children’s Centre
Press release
October 8, 2008

Dear Parents,

Below is a copy of a press release/briefing note that is being distributed widely this week. We are working on a strategy to minimize disruption to families in our programs and will have more detailed plans to share with you during the next few days. In the immediate future, this will affect our Daisies Infant Classroom and Blueberries Toddler Classroom. As we prepare to close these programs effective November 28th. All staff are expected to remain employed but there will be some movement between programs to meet program needs.

Whistler Children’s Centre in Urgent Need of Qualified Staff

For the first time in its history, the Whistler Children’s Centre (WCC) has made the difficult decision to temporarily cease intake of new families into its programs due to shortages of qualified staff.  We are also needing to look at restructuring of programs until we have more certified staff.  We are in critical need of Early Childhood Educators; particularly those specialized in Infant Toddler training.  We are one of only a few Centres in the corridor presently providing licensed infant toddler programs for children aged 3 months to 36 months.  As difficult as the discussion about changes is, it’s about being responsible to the community.  “As a Centre, we need to continue to provide safe, healthy, and developmentally age appropriate environments for our children to prosper and grow, says Kari Gaudet, Program Coordinator.  As soon as the board became aware of the issue, it felt that the community needed to be made aware of the challenges, and that we are committed to maintaining the high quality of programming we have, even if that means serving fewer families in the short term, says Stephany Smith, Chair of the WCC Board of Directors.

We Hope the Reductions in Service will be Temporary

While we hope that the annual influx of seasonal workers will help, the Centre is bracing itself for the possibility of further program reductions or program changes if we can not find adequate numbers of qualified staff immediately. The challenge is that while we may have a surplus of wonderful, caring staff that have completed their education out of province or from other countries, the process of having their qualifications assessed by the ECE Registry and issued a license to practice in BC is not a short one.  Applicants require specific criminal records checks, and costly medical reports, and the process can take up to 8 weeks if things go smoothly.  We have requested that the Medical Health Officer offer exemptions to some of the requirements which have more to do with paperwork than with service quality.  So, unfortunately, families on the waitlist may face an undetermined delay in entering the Centre.

Families Rely on Our Centre in Order to Work in our Community

The Whistler Children’s Centre Society operates two child care facilities in Whistler that offer care and education programs to local children between 3 months and 6 years of age.  Currently we have 169 families attending the Centres, on either a part time or full time basis, and we have an additional 96 families on our waitlist.  Child care is an integral part of our growing community. Our families rely heavily on the services we provide, allowing them to work and contribute in our community.  Without our services, most of our families would be unable to work in the community, creating added pressure on the current labour shortage in Whistler.

The Crisis is Being Felt Across the Country, but Even More So in Whistler

While in the past, we have routinely struggled to recruit and maintain qualified Early Childhood Educators with licenses to practice in BC, this problem has worsened over the past year for a multitude of reasons.  The high cost of living and the inability to find affordable local housing in Whistler, combined with the lack of people entering into the Early Childhood field make it even more challenging to attract candidates.   High burnout rates are creating a critical situation in our child care facilities, not just in Whistler but throughout Sea to Sky Corridor.  Though our organization works diligently to find creative and innovative ways to attract Educators, we are finding the process challenging.  We are in active communication with our licensing officer regarding possible solutions.

The Centre is Being Proactive in Its Approach 

Our recruitment processes are extensive and have grown significantly over the years.  We currently post advertisements in our local newspapers, at employment agencies, at colleges and educational institutions offering Early Childcare Programs in the lower mainland and throughout BC and Canada.  We also attend our local job fairs and have recently partnered with Whistler Blackcomb to be a part of their job fairs, which attract applicants from across the globe.  Program Managers and Staff have spent time at Colleges speaking to their ECE students about the child care programs we offer and the career opportunities available at our Centres.

It’s about Demonstrating that we as a Community Value High Quality ECE Staff

It’s not just about recruitment:  we are trying to take a proactive and creative approach to retaining qualified staff.  A survey of staff conducted earlier this year let us know, that while we offer competitive wages, wellness benefits, and ongoing educational opportunities, we need to do more, particularly given the high cost of living in Whistler.  The Board of the Whistler Children’s Centre has recently agreed in principle to sign on with ECEBC’s campaign to work toward a minimum wage of $20 per hour for qualified ECE’s, but we need to find the balance between keeping qualified staff and our mandate to offer affordable service to our community. 

We also offer a child care discount to help ECE’s who are returning to work with us after starting their own families.  And while we need to ensure continuity of service to the families we serve, we do our best to be flexible to accommodate the needs of ECE’s who want to work part time.

We are Committed to Working With Partners to Find Solutions

The Whistler Child Care Working Group --  which consists of individuals involved locally in the child care field such as The Resort Municipality of Whistler, Councilor Ralph Forsyth, Managers from 3 local child care providers, and Whistler Blackcomb’s Managers and Supervisors of Child Care Programs -- is working to understand and address the child care needs in our community.  One of the resulting synergies has been that Donna Kerr of W/B has welcomed WCC to participate in their hiring fair and jump on their recruiting program. W/B is also willing to work with WCC in creating a program where qualified staff work for both organizations.

We Need Help from the Community

Christine Kenny, Board Human Resources Representative notes, “our other obstacle at the moment is, assuming we are able to hire the required qualified staff, our ability to assist them in finding appropriate accommodation. If you know of any availability, we would appreciate contact information.”

Founded in 1982, Whistler Children’s Centre (Spring Creek and Nesters Campuses) is a licensed, non-profit early childhood education centre providing high quality education in Whistler for 25 years.  The Centre has invested in a gold standard curriculum.  It is well known that investment in such programs returns benefits resulting in reduced costs related to health, special education and social services later in life.

Christine Buttkus, Acting Administrator
Kari Gaudet, Program Coordinator
Stephany Smith, Chair, Whistler Children’s Centre Society