Changing numbers, and sometimes lack of space, and an all-the-time lack of funding for staff make care for the youngest set in our communities a continuous challenge. It is one the people on the ground cannot solve either.

Numbers for daycares can be confusing, as there are full time and part time kids, as well as infant spaces. Spaces will open up in some age areas as kids “graduate” to another grouping. But then the younger spaces fill up, and the “graduates” fill up the older spaces.

Tiny Turtle Playroom in Boissevain has just recently changed their policy, offering only full time daycare spaces, effective July 1, 2017. Director Pam Kelly said the local daycare is licensed for 56 children, plus 15 school age kids, and every spot is now filled.

“We’re only licensed for so many,” Kelly explained, “and we’re at the max right now.”

Kelly said they have been full before, but usually had bee

o for a day that no one wants or needs even though a centre is technically full.

Kelly said they currently have 27 working parents only using the daycare part time, but as of July 1 they will no longer have a spot available for their child, as the daycare changes to only paid full time spots. The eliminated part time spots will be filled with full time children. The on-line registry currently has 24 children on the waiting list. So the squeeze is obvious.

Last year, they had some flexibility in their eight infant spaces as well, but now they too are filled.

Kelly said she figures there are more kids in town again, and people are having babies. It is good news for Boissevain, but it does cause daycare issues.

Tiny Turtle has expanded their space before. However, that is not an easy solution. For one thing, numbers of children in a community ebb and flow. Once a new part is put on a building, fate would see numbers drop. As well, there is the issue with staffing. You need more staff for more kids, and how do you pay for that?

Kelly said the issue is one shared across the province. Numbers from the Manitoba Child Care Association bear this out. According to their stats, 62% of parents are waiting for a space, 51% of the stress of child-care is waiting for a space, and average wait times are 14-15 months depending on the child’s age. Many parents struggle with work due to child-care issues. As well, daycares are reporting difficulty in recruiting staff on different levels. A majority of Manitobans (83%) say child-care is a serious issue.

Boissevain is not the only place having issues. Glenys Bertholet, the director at Wee R Special in Deloraine, has been there 27 years and said this combination of factors has always been a challenge.

“Infant space is definitely an issue off and on,” Bertholet explained, “and it depends on the number of births. It is definitely a struggle - licensed infant care.”

They are licensed for 20 children, and she said they are not full right now, but that could easily change by the beginning of school. For them also, there are children needing some days, but not others, and full time has priority over part time. They could perhaps use space for more than their four infants as their waiting lists get long, but again, it is always questionable. But the biggest concern is staffing. They currently have six staff, with one as a cook.

“It is hard to get them. The biggest issue in child-care is trained staffing. The government wants to keep opening centres, but they need the staff. Definitely opening more spaces would help with waiting lists, but if you can’t get anyone to work …”

Minto’s Mini Mustang Corral is full, according to director Lauree Latimer, certainly as far as their staffing goes. There are 16 spaces at the actual daycare, as well as their nursery school program and their school age program. For that, there are four staff.

Latimer said every day is different for them as they do a lot of part time care. This means numbers do change per day. But overall, they do need some more staff, which is a challenge as it is for everyone.

“Attracting trained staff to a rural community can be difficult,” she said. “Unfortunately, the pay you can give them through government funding is not reflecting of the work they have to do. It is a rewarding job but it can be challenging. I have been in the daycare field for over ten years, and I haven’t seen that significant a change in wages.”

She explained that the trained Early Childhood Educator position does not have a minimum wage. So, starting from a low position, rural daycares must then try to recruit trained staff in a less than optimal situation.

“If they are not in your community, it is hard to attract them.”

In Minto, they draw from many rural communities as well, such as Dunrea, Ninette and Elgin. In fact, they pull from Boissevain, to make up for space shortages there.

So the local daycares struggle with space off and on, with attracting staff and planning how this year or the next will work out. Space, staff and money become the perfect storm.

“It would be nice to be able to pay our staff what they are worth,” Latimer said, “but it is hard to do with our budget. We are fortunate to have spaces in a small community, but you need trained staff.”

“The government says they are adding more space, but there are a lot of parents on waiting lists,” Kelly added. “Expanding would be taking a risk and you would have to have more trained staff before you would look at expanding. We would need more money to get more staff.”

Bertholet said issues in Deloraine are not as serious as in other communities, but has a very simple solution to at least part of the problem.

“More funding is what we need.”

 by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff

Photos by ANNA LATIMER, Recorder staff

(Above) Kaylee DeYaegher plays in the water table with her friends at Mini Mustang Corral in Minto. (Left) Lindzi Williamson picks up her daughter, Paizli Canada, at Tiny Turtle Playroom. (Below) Walker Light and Nicholas Wilkinson play in the infant room at Tiny Turtle. Photos by anna latimer

Jasper Scott and Van Gardner enjoy the outdoors at Tiny Turtle Playroom on Tuesday, April 25.

Photo by anna latimer

Early Childhood Educator Kerri Sprott leads preschool children in song during circle time at Minto Nursery School on Thursday, April 27.

Photos by anna latimer

Hannah Mansfield and Harper Holland read books together at Minto Nursery School.