BY APRIL ANTONIAZZI
for northern life
An extra 422 children will receive daycare spaces in Sudbury through the provincial government's Best Start program.
At a press conference Wednesday, Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci announced the new child care spaces, which will be in addition to the 270 spaces originally announced in July.
Through the Best Start program, Sudbury will receive $5.1 million towards these child care spaces for the 2006-07 year. The province is committed to fund these spots for three years.
The Best Start program aims to support children, parents and educators through the early years of a child's development and to provide a smooth transition for children into Grade 1.
It includes preschool programs, expanding child care for school aged children during non-school hours, increased subsidies and added support through childcare and parenting programs. The program is designed to help families regardless of income level or circumstance.
The additional spaces and funding are based on Greater Sudbury's need for increased child care, said Bartolucci.
“We saw that the target of 270 we had committed to in July wasn't going to be enough,” said the MPP.
More than 70 percent of children aged three to five currently have mothers who work outside the home, Bartolucci explained.
“With that type of percentage you know there is an overwhelming need among families in Ontario, certainly here in Greater Sudbury, for high quality affordable licensed childcare spaces,” he said.
The extra child care makes it easier for parents to balance both family and work.
Greater Sudbury Mayor David Courtemanche expressed the importance of the presence of these resources through a child's younger years.
The current investments in early childhood education will become investments in the city's economy and social infrastructure, he said.
Best Start is based on the knowledge that a child's early years are crucial to their future development and success.
“We're setting a foundation for a very prosperous future social perspective,” said Courtemanche.
The spaces available in 2006-07 will be interspersed throughout Sudbury's school boards and other possible daycare centres.
The program will help retain qualified childcare workers and early learning and childcare support in the city.
Throughout the province, 14,873 child care spaces have been created by the government which has a goal to create 25,000 by 2008.
