Whistler child-care situation has improved: Gaudet
November 10, 2010
Jennifer Miller
Whistler Question

Though the Whistler Children’s Centre has no plans to reopen its former second location in Spring Creek and local families still need to plan more than a year in advance to secure a daycare spot for a baby, local child care doesn’t seem to be in the state of crisis experienced over the past couple of years.

“I think right now we’re feeling very comfortable and the Children’s Centre is in a very stable position,” Kari Gaudet, director of child care services for the centre, said on Tuesday (Nov. 9).

For the first time “in a long time,” all the teachers at the centre are meeting all required qualifications and certification, Gaudet said. The feeling is that the Whistler Children’s Centre is a more stable organization with just one location instead of the previous two…

The centre’s Spring Creek location closed in February 2009. In May 2010 the centre’s board did a full analysis of the facility and determined that it would not be reopened, Gaudet said. The building is now under control of the municipality.

There simply weren’t enough children to reach 100 per cent capacity at the Spring Creek location, nor were there enough teachers to staff it, she said…..

There are currently about 100 to 120 families on the waitlist for care at the Whistler Children’s Centre, but Gaudet said some don’t require care until 2012. The centre cannot accommodate families who are just moving to Whistler and want care immediately, but that’s “fairly normal” for most communities, she said.

Those expecting a child should get on the waitlist right away. With the pregnancy time and a full year’s maternity leave spent on the waitlist, the centre is able to meet a family’s needs, Gaudet said.

“You do have to plan ahead,” she said.

In March 2009, the municipality released a Whistler Childcare Needs Assessment Report, which outlined a local child-care crisis because of a shortage of qualified staff, a critical shortage of spaces for children age 0 to 2 and a lack of housing for child care staff….

Forsyth said he’s also heard Whistler’s child-care situation has improved from its crisis point in recent years. Still, he agreed that different certification requirements for teachers coming from outside B.C. and limited spots for infants continue to be challenges.

“There’s still long waiting lists… for the infant care,” Forsyth said.