Health & Social Services - March 16, 2006 

Best Start - The following motion was endorsed by Health & Social Services Committee at their meeting on March 16^th to  be presented at the March 29^th meeting of Regional Council.  Committee requested that all Durham municipalities endorse this resolution.  A motion originating from City of Toronto (specific to the Toronto experience) was endorsed by Regional Council on March 8^th. 

WHEREAS the Region of Durham will receive $ 25 million in Best Start funding which will add 770 new licensed child care spaces by the end of 2007; and WHEREAS the Region has approved the Child Care Service Plan for 2005-2006 and the Best Start Transitional Implementation Plan and Infrastructure Plan; and WHEREAS purchase of service within the for-profit child care will be maintained at no more than the current level; and WHEREAS the cancellation of the federal Early Learning and Child Care program by the new Conservative government puts the Region of Durham's' child care system and those new spaces in jeopardy; and WHEREAS the lost funding will leave many children in Durham Region without quality accessible child care; and WHEREAS the Conservative Government's proposed child care income support for families is a valid policy goal but is not a substitute for public investment in high quality early learning and child care programs; and WHEREAS less than $100.00 a month, after taxes, comes nowhere close to covering the cost of high quality child care, and tax credits for employers will not create sustainable, equitable child care programs; and

WHEREAS without a national child care program, there will be no choice in child care for parents;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Durham Regional Council and the residents of the Durham, work with the federal and provincial governments to preserve the national child care program and the Ontario federal-provincial child care agreement; (i) introducing standards that guarantee quality, universally accessible, developmental, inclusive programming like the Canada Health Act, the principles of child care needs to be enshrined in legislation; (ii) maintaining existing federal commitments (Canada Social Transfer, Early Childhood Development Initiative and Multilateral Framework Agreement funding); (iii) dedicating a separate adequate designated funding stream for a new, long-term federal transfer to provinces and territories; and (iv) including provincial and territorial accountability, tied to five-year plans that include goals and objectives, timelines and targets, review and evaluation as they build new Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) systems; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Region of Durham work with families, childcare programs, and child care advocacy groups to ensure that the federal government fulfills its five-year funding commitment to build a national early learning and child care system in Durham, Ontario and Canada; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT this motion be circulated to the other municipalities in Durham and all Durham MPPs and MPs.

 Note: Using the 2005 - 2006 Transition Plan and available capital funding it is expected that it will create 28 new spaces in Ajax with the capital funding. 4 spaces - 0 - 4 age group,24 spaces - JK/SK age group. In addition, (without using any capital) 50 new spaces (all 0 - 4 age group) were created in Ajax (April 2005 - December 2005) and these operators will receive some Best Start funding; one time start up funds and wage subsidy for the new staff to support these new spaces. Also note; 101 new fee subsidy placements have been made. As subsidy goes to the child, some of these new placements will also have been to Ajax families. 

The Best Start Plan in Durham allocates 144 S.K.  And 44 J.K. spaces with a total of $4,720,200.00 spent on capital in Ajax, over the next three years.