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Airdrie dayhome owner argues child care subsidies poorly administered

An Airdrie-based private dayhome owner says the federal and provincial governments are forcing winners and losers in the child care industry by providing subsidies only to licenced facilities.
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An Airdrie resident and owner of a dayhome business is frustrated by the Alberta government's child care subsidy, arguing it inhibits businesses that aren't licensed.

An Airdrie resident and private dayhome owner claims the federal and provincial governments are forcing winners and losers in the child care industry by providing subsidies only to licensed facilities.

Airdrie’s James Simpson owns Splish Splash Dayhomes, which runs three active locations in Calgary and accounts for 18 child care spaces. The dayhomes are regulated and operated by government-certified child care specialists, but offer a more personalized, smaller-scale program inspired by Montessori preschool principles. However, they are not licensed.

What this means, according to Simpson, is he cannot offer parents subsidized child care, like some of his competitors can.

“Because of this, my company is basically facing bankruptcy,” he said. “It has put us to the breaking point, because I can’t compete.”

When Simpson purchased Splish Splash Dayhomes in 2019, he said the company operated five successful locations, offering 30 personalized care spaces for parents. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, and the demand for child care plummeted as so many parents transitioned to working from home. 

And just when things were looking up for Simpson and his partners post-pandemic, he said the government child care subsidy came in and they lost 60 per cent of their clientele. They closed two of their locations and local parents lost 12 potential child care spaces. 

Simpson doesn’t blame parents for wanting to take advantage of the subsidy programs. Instead, he blames the government for not allowing parents full choice in their daycare providers.

“What we have found as business owners is the program itself is great, but the way they administer the program is not great,” he explained. “What they should have done is, instead of putting the subsidy to the providers, they should have put the subsidy to the parents … That way you get qualified for the subsidy and go find the child care provider you want.”

By allowing the subsidies to be used at licensed daycare providers only, Simpson claimed the government has essentially devalued the pivotal role provided by private dayhome providers, many of which are run by stay-at-home moms who themselves have young children. He argued these home-based businesses have traditionally held an important role in Alberta’s child care landscape.

According to the Alberta Association of Childcare Entrepreneurs, about 67 per cent of child care spaces in Alberta are privately owned and operated. Licensing has traditionally only been sought out by child care providers who wish to hire additional staff and expand beyond the six-child maximum currently allowed to private dayhome operators in Alberta. 

On top of that, child care in Alberta is facing a crisis as the creation of new child care spaces is simply not keeping up with demand as many parents return to in-person work arrangements in an increasingly post-COVID world. 

Premier Danielle Smith blamed the federal government this past November for aggravating the crisis by failing to provide the necessary funding to keep up with current demand for subsidized spaces. Parents now face longer wait times at many licensed operators who simply do not have the capacity to take in new children.

The Airdrie City View reached out to the provincial government for a response to Simpson’s claim that many private operators are essentially facing bankruptcy and closure because of the subsidization policies. In response to this request, Alberta Children’s Services (ACS) replied with a statement that said Alberta’s government “supports parental choice in child care and the people who provide it.”

“We recognize that unlicensed dayhomes provide valuable support in offering more child care options for many Alberta families and this government continues to encourage unlicensed dayhomes to consider the benefits of working under a licensed family dayhome agency,” the statement continued.

The statement later added that “unlicensed dayhomes can choose to contact licensed family dayhome agencies in their local area to become approved family dayhome educators” in order to access the available benefits.

“On top of monitoring approved educators to ensure they are meeting health, safety and program quality standards, licensed agencies offer educators a network to access training, resources and assistance including government funding for training and wage top-ups as well as funding to help reduce parent fees,” ACS stated.

When showed ACS’s statement, Simpson argued the response is simply out of touch with the realities of the child care market in Alberta. He feels licensed dayhome agencies add an administrative level and therefore an additional cost to the fees he would have to collect from parents. He believes the increase would perhaps be as much as $300 to $400 more per month, essentially nullifying any cost-benefit his parents might derive from the child care subsidy program.

Getting licensed would also mean Simpson would have to reduce the number of infants and toddlers (aged one to three) he could take into his dayhomes, which accounts for most of his business. Under licensing requirements, he would only be able to take in two children under the age of two at each of his three dayhomes.

“If I switched over to licensed, I would now have to go over and draw straws with my parents,” he stated. “I have to say, ‘Guess what? Out of my 15 parents that have infants, I can now only take six of you.’ Infant care is what people really need. They need dayhomes that provide for kids ages one to three years. That is the biggest (need).” 

Simpson said he may indeed open a licensed dayhome when the rental market improves, but that does not solve his dilemma at the moment. If something doesn’t change soon, Simpson is afraid he may have to shutter his last three locations as well, which would take another potential 18 child care spaces off the market.

“You are losing child care providers left, right and centre because of the way (the subsidy) is administered,” he stated. 


Tim Kalinowski

About the Author: Tim Kalinowski

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