The Saskatchewan government is encouraging home-based child-care providers to become regulated.
Officials said this will allow more families to access reduced out-of-pocket child-care fees.
“We have a quick and easy process for home-based child care providers to become regulated,” Saskatchewan Education Minister Dustin Duncan said in a press release.
“We encourage unregulated providers to register with the Ministry of Education so they can qualify for additional funds to lower fees for the families they support.”
On Nov. 19, the federal and provincial governments announced that funding will be provided to regulated facilities through a grant that will reduce parents’ out-of-pocket child-care fees by about half on average, retroactive to July 1.
Home-based providers who become regulated may also have access to grant money to help with startup costs, training as well as assistance from educated child-care consultants.
The new provincial and federal government funding announcement for “10-dollar-per-day daycare” was welcome to many. However, that leaves unlicensed home daycare providers like the Leon family who have built up their business over a decade struggling to stay competitive.
“We’ve abided by the rules and everything up to date. We understand and know what the education minister is trying to do and we are OK with that,” said Luis Leon, who has helped his wife run an unlicensed home daycare operation for a decade.
“But needing to be licensed, needing to have costs of training and having to go to school or costs of upgrading the home — those things having someone have their thumb over you is a big thing for us.”
Upon becoming regulated, these child-care providers will be eligible to receive grants retroactive to the date of application, read a press release on Thursday.
Government officials said there are few barriers to becoming a regulated home-based provider, which include an initial fire inspection and regular heating inspections.
But for the Leon family, the inspections are an unneeded barrier to continue running a competitive business like they have for the last decade.
“We don’t want to have annual inspections or someone calling us to check on us. In my mind, it’s parents who have the right to do that, not the government,” Leon said.
They’re hoping more can be done to close the gap between the licensed and unlicensed. Otherwise, they’re in danger of closing and exploring other career opportunities.
“We understand that it’s expensive and it takes up a percentage of your income. But for those that are making a living at it, we want to make sure that we get compensated as well,” Leon said.
– With files from Ian Duffy
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