The promise of $10-a-day child care is supposed to make raising a young family more affordable. But for some Saskatchewan parents, a gap in the program’s rollout will mean a bigger hit to their budget than expected.
The issue is that not all children turning six this year will qualify equally under the province’s renewed $10-a-day child-care agreement, leaving some families on the hook for thousands of dollars in costs they didn’t plan for.
The challenge comes down to timing.
Last year, the provincial government renegotiated its $10-a-day child-care funding deal with the federal government.
The current deal, which expires March 31, does not cover children who turn six while in kindergarten. The new agreement will, but it does not take effect until April 1. That means children who turn six before then will not be eligible under the existing agreement, and do not qualify for the updated one.
Tina Lloyd thought they were going to be covered until the end of kindergarten under the new deal. She said their child-care provider thought the same. But her daughter turns six on March 31 — one day before the new agreement begins.
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“It was exciting and a relief to know our $10 a day would be covered, at least what we thought when it was announced back in November,” Lloyd said.
“It’s just unfortunate that less than 24 hours is going to cost us thousands.”
Now, Lloyd and her family are scrambling to adjust to the unexpected expense.
“I don’t know who has an extra $2,000 laying around, just with the cost of living the way it is,” she said. “And that is what our child-care provider thought as well.”
George Cressman only recently found out her daughter would not be covered. She received a letter from her daycare centre letting her know her daughter, who just turned six, wouldn’t be covered, either. She said the timing left her with little room to plan.
“It was a struggle even to get to the position we’re in now,” she said. “And then having the rug pulled out from underneath you, with not even enough time to decide whether you can afford the care that it was last month.”
Education Minister Everett Hindley said he understands the frustration, but said his hands are tied.
“I would compare it to other contracts that an individual or a family may sign; if you are able to negotiate a better interest rate on your mortgage, that isn’t retroactive, unfortunately. It takes effect on the date of the new agreement,” Hindley said.
He said the provincial government worked hard to ensure the program benefited as many families as possible.
Either way, daycare providers are asking the government to step up.
“I got the feeling because it’s not a huge number of kids, that this isn’t as important as it should be. And I would ask what that magic number is of kids getting left behind,” said Cara Werner, the executive director of Dream Big Child Care
For Werner, and the parents affected, that number is zero.
They’re keeping fingers crossed the province will come through for them.
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