Thank you.
My name is Leslie Wilson, and I'm with a company called Wee Watch Enriched Home Child Care.
We have licensed private home child care agencies in Ontario and in B.C. We have been around for almost 20 years, and we would have over 3,000 children in care in around 1,200 homes on a daily basis.
At this time, we are very pleased with the initiatives set forth by the Harper government. We feel that the best place for children to be raised is in their own homes, by their own parents. This government has recognized this and is prepared to reward parents who are able to stay at home.
For many reasons, it is obviously not practical for all families to allow a stay-at-home parent. We feel that our system best replicates a child being at home.
The $1,200 allowance being suggested will help to close the gap between unregulated, unlicensed care and a licensed setting. Parents may now be able to afford this type of spot versus a private individual. Under the old proposed system, spots were going to be created, but it was unclear if parents were going to be able to afford these spots.
However, there needs to be some stipulation put on this money. We need to make sure it is being used for day care. We feel this money should be directed to parents towards licensed care, whether in a situation like ours or in a licensed centre.
The ultimate goal is for the well-being of the children and to ensure they receive the proper programming and stimulation required during their early years. Perhaps tax incentives could be used for this. For instance, it would be tax free if it was used in a licensed setting.
The added consideration that needs to be looked at is the individual who is already receiving subsidized care. Should they receive this money if they are already receiving licensed care for less than $100 a month? Can this money be redirected to bring in more children from the waiting lists?
We would also like to comment on the $250 million being allocated to new day care spots. Our information tells us that the cost to create a spot in a day care centre is approximately $5,000. In a licensed home setting, the cost is well under $1,000, with very little infrastructure required.
Consideration needs to be given to all scenarios. The large city centres traditionally ignore licensed home care in any of their expansion plans. Ours is by far the most efficient model and would allow parents access to far more licensed spaces at affordable cost. In addition to this, licensing regulations favour the individual providing day care in an unlicensed setting versus someone working for an agency.
It is our hope through this budget process that we will be able to close the gap and help parents afford quality licensed care for their children.
Thank you.