Government Denies Alberta Families Public Day Care

On the heels of the Federal Government announcement in it's Budget 2005 that Alberta was entitled to $70 million dollars for public day care this year, for a total of $500 million dollars over the next five years which would include expanding spaces and possible wage increases to underpaid staff, all money from one source us, Alberta taxpayers.

Alberta Government Children's Services Minister Heather Forsyth still refuses to accept the money if it doesn't go to for profit day cares. Once again this government is cutting its nose to spite it's face.

As of today it has been reported in the news that a private day care operator left another of the children in their care to wander off unsupervised. In Montreal a private day care operator was charged with abusing two children in her care.

So despite the evidence that for profit day care is about business not child care or child development, Alberta being the bastion of Republican ideology in Canada, continues to insist that funds go to these profiteers.

"The program should offer parents choice and flexibility, whether it's not-for-profit or for-profit, whether they choose to a day care or day home," said Forsyth.

The Alberta government insists on short changing Alberta families as I point out in the the IWW Family Day Press Release, Alberta Families say: Show Us the Money, Ralph

"Alberta Families deserve their share of the Federal Day Care fund, they paid for it they want it and need it. The Klein government’s insistence on using taxpayer money to benefit private for profit day cares denies Alberta families access to affordable public day care. It also denies day care workers a Living Wage. Currently many child care workers in Alberta make barely above the minimum wage of $5.90 an hour. Parents are forced to work shift work in order to take care of their children at home, due to the lack of public day care spaces. Parents working two jobs each, just to make ends meet are being left out of the “Alberta Advantage”.

Alberta has the lowest use of public day care in Canada, because the Alberta Government has allowed private for profit day care centres and baby sitting services to access funds earmarked for public day care. Alberta families are paying for someone to profit off their plight and without access to Federal funds, they will be paying twice for the privilege of having no access to public day care.

Alberta Families deserve their share of the Federal Day Care fund, they paid for it they want it and need it. The Klein government’s insistence on using taxpayer money to benefit private for profit day cares denies Alberta families access to affordable public day care. It also denies day care workers a Living Wage. Currently many child care workers in Alberta make barely above the minimum wage of $5.90 an hour. Parents are forced to work shift work in order to take care of their children at home, due to the lack of public day care spaces. Parents working two jobs each, just to make ends meet are being left out of the “Alberta Advantage”.

Alberta has the lowest use of public day care in Canada, because the Alberta Government has allowed private for profit day care centres and baby sitting services to access funds earmarked for public day care. Alberta families are paying for someone to profit off their plight and without access to Federal funds, they will be paying twice for the privilege of having no access to public day care."

Forsyth and the Government continue to push their privatization ideology despite facts to the contrary. The fact is that all of the incidence of child abuse in day cares in the province have occured in for profit day cares. And still she insists on funding them at the expense of a good public day care system.

Private for profit day care is not about child development it's about profit. The Alberta government loves to spend public money on caring for millionares rather than public day care.

"Reporter Laurie Monsebraaten profiled one of Australia's richest men in the Toronto Star this week. What's the secret to Canadian-born Eddy Groves' success? Child care. Or more accurately, a government that invested heavily in child care and allowed commercial operators access to public cash. "
Big box child care: how to become a millionaire


DAY CARE SHUT DOWN AFTER 2ND BABY LEFT ALONE
Last Updated Thu, 24 Feb 2005 23:26:44 EST
CBC News

EDMONTON - An Edmonton day care that left an infant locked inside alone in the dark has been ordered shut down after another toddler was found unwatched in a playground.

The Alberta Ministry of Children's Services took the rare step of immediately removing the licence for the Bearspaw Day Care Centre, said Ron Bos, a spokesman for Edmonton Child and Family Services.

A 20-month-old child was left alone in an outdoor playground on Wednesday, Bos told the Canadian Press.

"It was a second incident regarding a lack of supervision and putting a child at imminent risk in the past month, so we felt we had no choice but to issue a stop order and immediately close the day-care centre."

The centre came under public scrutiny on Jan. 27, when a six-month-old boy was locked up alone for about three hours after staff went home for the night.

A provincial probe found the day care didn't have parents sign their children in and out as required under government regulations. It banned the centre from caring for children under 19 months of age.

The second incident surfaced after a man heard the child crying in the yard and took him into the day care, then called child services, who investigated.

The owner of the day care, Bonita Berezanski, declined comment Thursday.

However, a parent who has been leaving her 18-month-old child at the day care for six months was disappointed by the news.

"It was about three to five minutes before they realized the little guy wasn't there," Amanda Hall, who was there when the latest incident occurred, told the Canadian Press.

"This centre is great. –It's sad that we have to say goodbye to the people who love our children." The province has issued stop orders to only two other licensed day cares in the province.

The centre has 14 days to appeal the decision.

In the meantime, Bos said the 36 families who had children in the day care were contacted and given a letter explaining the reasons for the closure.




STRIKE 2: DAY CARE'S OUT
CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES CLOSES CENTRE AFTER 20-MONTH-OLD LEFT OUT IN COLD

Mike Sadava
The Edmonton Journal

February 25, 2005

EDMONTON - An Edmonton day-care centre that locked a baby inside after hours last month and left a toddler outside on Wednesday has been closed by the province.

The Bear's Paw Day Care Centre was permanently shut down Thursday by Child and Family Services after a 20-month-old toddler was left unsupervised in an outdoor play area Wednesday morning.

A worker in an apartment building overlooking the play area apparently heard the toddler crying and eventually took the child inside the centre.

It was a sunny, spring-like day, and the child was unharmed.

A month ago, the same day care, located in a strip mall near 105th Street and 19th Avenue, had its baby room shut down by Child and Family Services after staff locked up for the night, leaving an infant in a crib for three hours.

On Wednesday, six children aged 20 months to three years were playing in the fenced outdoor area that includes several slides and small play houses.

The children were supervised by three staff members, said Ron Bos, Edmonton spokesman for Child and Family Services. When it came time to take the children back inside, the 20-month-old was somehow left behind, he said.

Paul Kovacs, the worker in the next-door apartment building, heard crying. He initially thought it was coming from one of the suites and went back to work, but still heard the crying and discovered it was coming from the day care's play area. He went down to investigate.

"He had no gloves, one boot was already off. If I hadn't come out here, who knows how long it would've been until they came out here and found the kid."

Kovacs estimated he heard the crying for about 30 minutes.

Bos said the "stop order" means the day care is shut down permanently. The fact that this is the second incident had a major impact on the decision, he said.

"To us, they're one and the same, leaving a child unattended and at imminent risk," Bos said. "Considering that, relatively speaking, they happened back to back plays a huge part in it, because we did put measures in place and ordered the day care to follow those measures.

"It doesn't stop them from applying for another licence somewhere down the road, but their track record would come into play."

Only two other stop orders have been issued in the Edmonton region over the past 20 years, Bos said.

The owner of the Bear's Paw centre, Bonita Berezanski, has a separate licence to run an out-of-school care program for school-aged children in the same building. That operation is not affected by the stop order and can remain open, he said.

The 36 families affected by the closure were contacted by Children's Services on Thursday.

Most parents interviewed after picking up their youngsters from the centre were sympathetic to the owners.

"The staff have been kind to these children, and we're all guilty of making mistakes," said Amanda Hall, who had a two-year-old at the centre.

She was dropping her child off and signing some papers around the time the toddler was found. She estimated the child was alone for three to five minutes.

"It's sad that we're losing the people who love our kids," said Hall, who had already found a space for her two-year-old in another day-care centre.

Fannie Very, whose twin three-year-old girls had been going to Bear's Paw for two months, said she didn't think the centre should be closed down.

"I have no child care as of now," said Very, who works at a call centre. "I have a full-time job I've been struggling to keep because of child-care issues."

She acknowledged that she would be angry if her child was left outside.

Bos said parents picking up children Thursday were given a list of day cares and a letter explaining that Bear's Paw was closed. "We know there are 36 families under stress, but given the circumstances, we felt we didn't have a choice."

Berezanski and staff at the centre declined to be interviewed.

© The Edmonton Journal 2005

PRIVATE DAY CARE OPERATOR GUILTY OF ABUSING TWO BABIES

Canadian Press

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

MONTREAL (CP) -- A day-care operator was found guilty Wednesday of two counts of aggravated assault after two babies in her care suffered skull fractures.

Cathy Matteau, 23, has yet to be sentenced.

The babies suffered their injuries within a week of each other and only days after starting at Matteau's at-home day care in early March 2003.

The six-month-old infant ended up with a skull fracture. The 11-month-old had a similar fracture, along with six smashed vertebrae, and showed signs of shaken-baby syndrome.

In a videotaped statement Matteau gave to police after her arrest in 2003, Matteau suggested the babies might have been "pitched against a wall.''

Dr. Dominique Marton, a child abuse expert, testified last week the babies probably had their heads banged against a hard, flat surface, like a wall, floor or ceiling.
© Canadian Press 2005

ALBERTA MAY REJECT FEDERAL DAY-CARE FUNDS
$5 BILLION PLEDGED, BUT PROVINCE WANTS PARENTS TO HAVE CHOICES

James Baxter

The Edmonton Journal; with files from CanWest News Service, and The Canadian Press.

February 24, 2005

EDMONTON - The Martin government pledged $5 billion over five years for a national child- care program Wednesday, but Alberta is prepared to forgo its share if it comes with too many strings attached.

Children's Services Minister Heather Forsyth said there was little new in the budget to help end the federal-provincial standoff over Social Services Minister Ken Dryden's push to create a national child-care program.

She said the provinces were expecting the budget would offer a blueprint for the next round of negotiations, but their concerns went largely unaddressed.

Instead, Finance Minister Ralph Goodale announced that an initial payment of $700 million will be paid into a third-party trust from which provinces and territories can draw on a per-capita basis in the coming two years as provinces develop their respective child-care systems.

"I think it's good that we're getting some clarity on the federal government's funding commitment," said Forsyth, who was reached at a conference in Victoria.

"However, we still believe we have a long way to go. We're not sure that the money is coming to Alberta."

Forsyth did not rule out that Alberta could walk away from its share of the funding, an estimated $70 million this year and $500 million over the next five years, if it comes with onerous restrictions.

At the top of Forsyth's concerns is any system that requires funds be spent on accredited day-care programs, rather than giving individual parents the choice to use the money to raise their children however they see fit.

"There's never that kind of agreement, where we're talking that kind of money, that there's no strings attached. Never. Trust me," she said. "I think those are some of the things that we have to hammer out."

Forsyth said she is disappointed that the federal government refuses to look at other measures to ease the burden on stay-at-home parents. She said what she hears most is a request for tax relief for parents who choose to raise their own children.

"That was never discussed at the (Vancouver) meeting," she said. "It wasn't even considered or talked about at the table and Minister Dryden made that very, very clear. We're talking about a national day care (program) in this particular funding model."

Child-care advocates cheered the budget announcement and said Forsyth should use the funds to bolster child care centres.

"I am pretty confident that the (Alberta) government has a strong idea of what is needed here to develop quality child care and will look at it carefully and consider the issues," said Sherrill Brown, who chairs the Alberta Child Care Network Association.

"I know (we) believe that it is child care's turn and that we need to be putting that money into child-care programs in order to support them so that we can support families."

"I would hope Alberta would use the funding for licensed child-care programs," said Tanya Szarko, spokeswoman for the Day Care Society of Alberta, adding that the federal government should require commitments from the provinces to invest in child care. "There needs to be a clear standard on where funds are going."

Barbara Coyle, executive director of the Canadian Child Care Federation, voiced concern that the first $700 million appears to have been doled out without sufficient conditions.

"One concern we have is that the first $700 million is flowing without strings attached, which is going to mean that we're going to have to work even more closely and vigilantly with the provinces and territories to ensure that the money is tied to (the proposed child-care program's) principles," she said.

Dryden and the ministers will meet again in the next few weeks.

© The Edmonton Journal 2005

$5 BILLION PUT INTO DAY CARE DESPITE LACK OF SPENDING PLAN
ALBERTA UNSURE WHAT TO DO WITH CASH

Michelle Lang
Calgary Herald; with files from CanWest News Service

Thursday, February 24, 2005


Calgary day cares aren't banking on their share of a $700-million cheque for national child care in the federal budget, saying they need details on the proposed program and how funds will be spent.

Wednesday's budget allocated cash for a much-anticipated Canada-wide child care program -- $5 billion over five years, including $700 million for the provinces to spend in 2005.

Yet, without an agreement on the national child care initiative, which Ottawa unsuccessfully tried to broker with provinces earlier this month, the budget was short on details about the proposed program.

Local day cares -- and even Alberta politicians -- were left with unanswered questions about how the budgeted cash will be spent.

"I'm very excited about idea of the national program," said Tanya Szarko, spokeswoman for the Day Care Society of Alberta.

"But there needs to be a clear standard on where funds are going.

I wouldn't want to see funds allocated to unlicensed programs."

Despite some criticism, child care advocates also praised federal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale's budget for following through on Ottawa's pledge to allocate $5 billion in funds for the proposed program over five years.

In 2005, while federal-provincial negotiations on the program continue, $700 million will be available to the provinces on a per-capita basis "as they require." The money will be paid into a third-party trust.

It isn't clear how Alberta will spend its share of the cash. Alberta Children's Services Minister Heather Forsyth said she needs clarification from federal Social Development Minister Ken Dryden about how the $700 million can be spent.

"We need to understand how they see the money flowing," she said.

Earlier this month, Forsyth refused to sign on to Dryden's national childcare proposal during federal-provincial talks in Vancouver, saying the initiative should be more flexible in allowing parents to choose the type of day care they prefer. Forsyth also wanted guarantees Ottawa will fund the national program after its five-year commitment.

On Wednesday, she said her position hadn't changed.

"The program should offer parents choice and flexibility, whether it's not-for-profit or for-profit, whether they choose to a day care or day home," said Forsyth.

Some in Calgary's day care community agreed the cash should simply be handed over to lower- and middle-income families to subsidize child care costs at licensed facilities.

Georgina Leimert of Mount Royal Day Care suggested some funds might also go to upgrading day cares and paying for more staff training.

Leimert said it shouldn't pay for parents to stay at home and take care of their children themselves.

"I'm wondering where is this money supposed to go," she said. "The government hasn't said."

The $5-billion child-care investment also includes $100 million to develop early childhood programs on First Nations reserves. Moreover, government proposed $120 million over five years to improve an existing on-reserve special education program for First Nations children.

While child-care initiatives made headlines in Wednesday's budget, the spotlight was off of health care.

The budget did, however, outline the payment plan for the $41-billion health-care accord Ottawa and the provinces reached last fall.

Federal cash transfers will rise from $16.3 billion this year to $19.6 billion next year, Goodale said.

After that, transfers will escalate by six per cent annually until they reach $30.5 billion in 2013-14.

© The Calgary Herald 2005

February 24, 2005
FORSYTH LETTING PARENTS DOWN - CUPE

TURNING AWAY DAYCARE FUNDS ‘A CRIME’ AGAINST WORKING PARENTS

CALGARY - Turning away from $500 million in daycare funding for Alberta would leave Alberta parents in a lurch. That was the opinion of D'Arcy Lanovaz, Alberta President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

Lanovaz was responding to media reports that Children's Services Minister Heather Forsyth might turn down federal day care funds if the money has to go to accredited day care centres. Alberta's share of the funding would be approximately $500 million over five years.

"What the minister is saying is that unless the government does what she wants, Alberta parents get left out in the cold," said Lanovaz. "Turning your back on that kind of support doesn't make sense - it's a crime against working parents."

"The provincial government likes to talk about 'choice' for parents, but what kind of choice do parents have when the government turns its back on funding for more and better daycare spaces," said Lanovaz. "All Forsyth is doing is taking choices away."

Lanovaz said that the federal government promised a national childcare program, and that CUPE supports a system geared towards non-profit care.

"Study after study, including a recent study by the University of Toronto, shows that non-profit day care centres provide the highest quality care on almost any factor you measure," said Lanovaz.

"Why is the provincial government against quality child care?"

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