Childcare in the region

[danbrotherston]

How many spaces did the region close in 2021 again? Probably would have been worth mentioning in the story. 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener...-1.7105021

[nms]

How many spaces did the region close in 2021 again? Probably would have been worth mentioning in the story. 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener...-1.7105021

When the Region closed their centres in 2021, they were providing 200 spots out of 14,000 spots operated by 67 operators available in the Region according to the CBC.  The article from 2020 did not say how many were on the waitlist.  The CTV report quoted Regional staff and claimed that 350-750 licensed spots could be created as a result of the savings.  Global reported that the number was 350-791 and that there were at the time 2000 open spots in the Region (this was December 2020 so peak pandemic and work from home).

Quick, for those tuning in at home, grab a pencil and paper:  with 14,000 spots operating mid-pandemic in 2020 (with 2000 empty spots), and the CBC article suggesting that a 9200 child waiting exists in 2024, and there has been a 115% increase in child care demand, how many child care spots are actually needed in Waterloo Region?  My quick math would put demand at around 30,000 spots and that the Region currently has about 21,000 licensed spots operating.

[cherrypark]

Better yet, would love to hear a follow up on how many of those 350-750 spots materialized or if we're just in a deficit of -200 spots still (aside any efforts by those centres already existing finding a way to expand on their own).

[SammyOES]

How does the childcare funding from the Feds play into this? I’m not sure of the timelines leading up to this but I believe it was 2022 when daycare costs were cut in half for many centres. Obviously that has a large effect on demand. Going to $1200/month from $2400/month for two kids (as an example) means there are a lot more people finding it financially worth it to work and use childcare rather than just stay at home themselves.