With a steadfast demand for child care in Northumberland, the county has announced 50 children will move from waiting lists into care in January, with 82 more openings coming soon.
Northumberland County previously announced in 2024 there would be new child care spots available following the successful renovation and licensing of three facilities for child care services. That work has been completed, marking “a significant milestone” in the quest to provide more child care for Northumberland families, the county noted in a January 16 media release.
“This progress would not have been possible without the strong collaboration of our partners,” said Lesley Patterson, the county’s Early Years services manager, in a statement.
“We thank our two child care providers for their dedication and support in managing services at these new facilities,” Patterson said. “The Municipality of Port Hope has also prioritized this initiative, playing an essential role by making municipal facility space available to expedite this expansion. Additionally, we would like to recognize our construction partners, for completing the renovations required to make these spaces available to the community.”
New spaces to be filled by January 20 include 30 spaces with Ganaraska Child Care at the former Ruth Clarke Activity Centre in Port Hope at 81 Mill St. S., 15 spaces with YMCA Northumberland at 161 Old Hastings Rd. in Warkworth, and five spaces with YMCA Northumberland at Northumberland Centre for Individual Studies at 780 D’Arcy St. in Cobourg.
Meanwhile, the county has initiated a hiring process for more than 10 new staff members across these facilities to help ensure the remaining 82 spaces open as soon as possible.
These spaces are part of a broader expansion initiative by Northumberland County, in partnership with the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, local municipalities, and community organizations.
Through this expansion, the county said it plans to provide a total of 404 new “high-quality, affordable, and accessible” early learning and child care services to families in Northumberland by the end of 2026.
“This expansion is not just about meeting current needs,” said Patterson. “It is also about ensuring that future generations of children have access to the best start in life through high-quality, inclusive early childhood education.”
On that note, when kawarthaNOW asked about the current demand for child care services, the Early Years team said the most recent data from April 2024 showed there are 1,581 children aged 12 and under waiting for child care services in Northumberland, with youngsters spending approximately 14.6 months on the wait list.
This information was aggregated from the wait list information for each child care facility in the community, as there isn’t one single wait list.
“Each facility manages a wait list for services at that location,” the Early Years team noted.
“Families in need of child care are encouraged to get their names on wait lists for any of the child care facilities in their area, as this will increase the chances of securing a placement,” the county added in its response to the query.
The current child care expansion efforts are a result of receiving nearly $1.7 million in funding from the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario. The funding has been allocated for construction, equipment, and supplies necessary for the facility upgrades and retrofits.
“The investment from our provincial and federal partners has been instrumental in helping us meet the growing demand for child care in our community,” said Northumberland County Warden Brian Ostrander.
“We are grateful for their continued support, which will ensure that more families in our community have access to affordable and high-quality early learning and child care services.”
Northumberland County said it remains “committed to supporting families and ensuring that children have access to the resources they need to thrive.”
To learn more about working in Early Years sector, visit northumberland.ca/ece.
To track Northumberland’s progress related to child care expansion efforts, visit the performance dashboard at northumberland.ca/dashboard. Updates for the fourth quarter of 2024 will be available by early February, the county noted.
