Even if Guelph and Wellington County were to meet its provincially-set growth target for child care spaces by 2026, thousands of local children could still be on the outside looking in.
The County of Wellington has confirmed 7,800 unique children are on the waiting list to be placed in child care programs in Wellington County. The County of Wellington administers the program for both the rural areas of the county and Guelph.
Compare that to the local growth target of 1,721 spaces between 2022 and 2026, set by the province.
The wait list count comes after a centralized application and wait list system was established by the county in April. The goal is to manage applications for multiple programs, and allow families to explore options.
Mandy Koroniak, the county’s director of children’s early years, said the system has been met by positive reviews.
“We’re pleased to be able to more accurately look at the number of unique families and children that are on the wait list,” she said. “It’s still fairly new but I’m looking forward to the data that we’re going to continue to get from the system that provides more insight into the need in our community.”
When it comes to specifics on managing the wait lists, Koroniak wasn't able to provide comment, as each manager takes care of their own individual wait lists.
Back in March, she said the child care demand has grown significantly since the implementation of the $10/day child care program in Ontario.
She also stated accessing capital funding, adequately staffing programs and recognizing fair wages for ECEs is needed to grow the system.
But in learning the number of children actually waiting for child care in the area, the question becomes where do we go from here to ensure as many children as possible gain access to child care services.
It’s a question Koroniak said may clear up as future terms of the CWELCC funding becomes known.
“Certainly from our perspective, as service system manager of licenced child care and early years programs, we want to see the numbers grow, the number of children that have access to a licenced space,” she said.
