The cancellation of before- and after-school child care at a local school has parents scrambling to make other arrangements.
The YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka informed parents earlier this year that the child-care service at Rama Central Public School would not continue in the 2019-20 school year.
“I’m really upset by this,” said Janice Godin. “What do I do if I can’t get this care?”
Godin’s twins, who will be four in November, will enter junior kindergarten in September at the Ramara Township school. Having them receive child care at the school would have been more convenient and require less travel for the working mom.
Godin and other parents have been working together to find a solution, but to no avail.
Crystal Stone-Simms is among that group. She benefited from child care at Rama Central for the past three years and was planning to use it again in September for her five- and seven-year-old kids.
She recently started her own business and was counting on the child care.
“In order for me to grow my business, I do rely on after-school care for my kids,” she said. “It’s very important.”
The decision to cancel the service is “very frustrating,” Stone-Simms said.
“There’s a lack of services and centres available to us out here. We need assistance,” she said.
Fiona Cascagnette, the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka’s vice-president of child care, camping and leadership development, said the numbers did not justify the continuation of the service.
Since the YMCA began providing child care at Rama Central 11 years ago, “consistently, we have had low enrolment,” Cascagnette said.
The lowest average monthly enrolment for before-school care has been three, while the highest has been six. For after-school care, the lowest average monthly enrolment has been four, and the highest has been nine.
“As a charity, we had to make the decision to end that program. It wasn’t viable,” Cascagnette said.
The YMCA let the Simcoe County District School Board know of its intention, but the board has not been able to find another provider.
To justify the return of the service, Cascagnette said, there would need to be an average enrolment of 20 children.
“I understand the numbers weren’t there this past year, but this year is a whole different ball game,” Stone-Simms said, adding she knows of at least 18 families — many with more than one child — who were hoping to use the service in 2019-20.
The parents don’t expect to see child care return to the school in September, but they’re hoping a provider will step up so it can be offered as soon as possible.
In the meantime, they’re relying on one another.
“We’re trying to help each other out until something else is in place,” Stone-Simms said, noting the parents are arranging to look after each other’s kids whenever they can.
It’s not a sustainable plan, though, and they will continue to look for a permanent solution.
“We have this group of parents who are fighting to get the care back for our children,” Godin said. “We aren’t going to lie down.”
