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The Huron Expositor • June 7, 2006 Page 11
Best start to create more Huron daycare
Stew Slater
Parents of children aged 3-6 will
have access to additional daycare
spaces in most Huron and Perth
County towns and cities by
September, 2006, courtesy of the
scaled-back version of former
Liberal cabinet minister Ken
Dryden's national childcare initia-
tive.
The Best Start program -- the
name given to Ontario's approach to
spending the money allocated for
national childcare not long before
the Paul Martin government fell
from power -- is directed in the two
counties by steering committees
made up of representatives of school
boards, municipal governments and
community service providers.
When Stephen Harper's
Conservative government axed
Dryden's plan, those steeting com-
mittees accepted the provincial gov-
ernment's suggestion to take the
2006-07 funding -- to which the fed-
eral government is already commit-
ted -- and spread it out over four
years by scaling back its original
plans.
According to Bill Tigert, director
of social services for Stratford -
Perth, that meant abandoning plans
to provide spaces and early learning
opportunities for 300 children aged
1-6 in Perth County alone, and con-
centrate instead on 85 children in
the Junior and Senior Kindergarten
age bracket.
Plans in Huron County were
scaled back to a similar degree.
"The plan was gutted," Tigert said
in an interview from his Stratford
office.
Still, he and his Huron County
counterpart Eveleen McDonagh, are
confident the resulting programs
will be well-received.
Most will be located within one
existing elementary school in each
major town, in some cases following
minor renovations to accommodate
for the differing requirements of
Ontario's Day Nurseries Act as
opposed to the Education Act.
Placing the programs within
existing schools provides a level of
flexibility when it comes to the dif-
fering timetables of the district's
Kindergarten students.
Some attend school for half a day,
each day. Others attend for a full
day, every other day.
But, as McDonagh explained, the
two school boards are sometimes
being "asked to come together on
this" to enable all to be welcomed in
the new Best Start facilities, nd
matter which Kindergarten pro-
gram they attend.
"I think of the Best Start pro-
grams as community programs,"
commented Avon Maitland educa-
tion director Geoff Williams. "It
doesn't matter to me where the pro-
grams are located, as long as there's
an improvement in the opportuni-
ties available to families with young
children."
Pending approval by the munici-
palities -- through which the fund-
ing must flow -- other school-based
Best Start programs are set to open
by September at St. Marys Catholic
school in
Listowel and St.
Joseph's Catholic
school in Clinton.
In Exeter and
Seaforth, Best
Start spaces will
be created in
existing daycare
facilities, both of
which are imme-
diately adjacent
to elementary
schools.
And McDonagh
expressed hope
that before and
after-school pro-
grams may also
be possible in
many Huron
County schools.
Some level of
fee subsidization
was already
available for
families in need
of childcare,
either through
Community
Services
Stratford -Perth
or Huron
County's
Children's
Services 'depart-
ment.
Subsidization
will be expanded
through Best
Start, with
money flowing
from the govern-
ment as soon as
the two steering
committees can
show they've cre-
ated new daycare
spaces.
The other main
component of
Best Start fund-
ing is the subsi-
dization of
salaries, some-
thing Williams
says is key.
"With childcare
in this province,
the ' operators
rely on subsidies
around wages;
that's a real
sticking point for
them."
The demands
of those two funding components,
however, have limited the availabili-
ty of money for creating new day-
care spaces.
And that ,means no new local
childcare for parents in smaller
communities like Brussels, Blyth or
Milverton, and big questions for
parents in the larger town of
Mitchell.
spaces
"Our vision ... is that we equalize
the services throughout the county,"
McDonagh said. "And I know that
we would love to see a program in
every school. But what it comes
down to is looking at providers who
would look at doing this in smaller
communities from another location."
On May 31m, we
to breathe a
II all be able
little N$I0I
Melds! Is the Me.1 areveetable cause et loath hi IWO, Mat
The Smoke -Free Ontario Act, which comes into force on May 31s,
is part of a broad effort to improve public health by reducing Ontarians'
exposure to and use of tobacco products.
The legislation bans smoking in all enclosed workplaces and enclosed
public places to protect workers from second-hand smoke.
The legislation also strengthens laws on tobacco sales to minors and
restricts the display of tobacco products in retail outlets.
If you smoke, now is a good time to consider quitting. For help and
a plan to quit, call Smokers' Helpline at 1-877-513-5333.
Or visit www.smokershelpline.ca for tips, tools and support.
For more information on the Smoke Free Ontario Act, contact your
Public Health Unit or call 1-866-396-1760. TTY: 1-800-387-5559.
Or visit www.ontario.ca/smokefree
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