Child care gap: 77K spaces needed to reach national benchmark

The province needs at least 77,000 more child care spaces to meet the national access benchmark — and a plan for getting there, the Child Care Coalition of Manitoba said Tuesday.

Licensed spaces currently serve only about 22 per cent of Manitoba’s estimated 207,336 children aged 12 and younger, the coalition said in a news release.

For Manitoba to reach the national benchmark of licensed spaces for 59 per cent of children, it needs 23,000 additional infant and preschool spaces and 54,000 school-age spaces, the release said.

There has been significant progress in recent years with the introduction of $10-a-day child care, thousands of new spaces created, higher wages for staff and increased operating funds for child care centres, the coalition noted. Still, families face long waits and limited options, particularly for parents working evenings, weekends, and rotating shifts, it said.

The coalition is calling on the province to take the lead in planning and expanding the creation of 77,000 net new spaces in the public and non-profit child care system.

“A comprehensive, universally accessible child care system will help families thrive, support women’s participation in the workforce, create good jobs and strengthen Manitoba’s economy,” the coalition’s Susan Prentice said in the release.

The child care advocacy organization wants government to remove the requirement for parent volunteers to fundraise 40 per cent of capital costs for new and renovated child care facilities.

It wants to see the expansion of extended-hour care in partnership with non-profit centres and public providers to support families working evenings, weekends and rotating shifts. The coalition is asking the province to ensure there are good jobs for child care workers, with regular improvements to wages, benefits and professional development, so new spaces can be staffed and remain available to families.

fpcity@winnipegfreepress.com