The provider for EarlyON services at St. Michael’s in Niagara-on-the-Lake is changing, but families can expect uninterrupted service, says Satinder Klair, Niagara Region’s director of children’s services.
The Niagara Catholic District School Board runs three EarlyON locations, two in Niagara Falls and one in Niagara-on-the-Lake, at St. Michael Catholic Elementary School.
The Catholic school board, however, is “getting out of the business,” said Klair.
Klair said the change is happening due to increased demand for child care, the need to make services more accessible and a push to use school spaces more effectively.
“Services are not leaving the community,” he said. “I truly do believe that services will probably be enhanced.”
The region hasn’t said where the new EarlyON locations will be, nor what organization will serve as the new provider.
Funded by the provincial government, EarlyON child and family centres offer free drop-in programs for kids up to six years old and their parents with activities available indoors, outdoors and online — it is not, however, a daycare, he said.
“The parents have to be with a child,” he said. “You cannot leave your child at EarlyON and then go to work. It’s not licensed child care.”
“It’s a space for families to come and engage in interactive play with their child,” he said, adding that it does still, however, require adequate staffing of registered early childhood educators.
The goal is zero disruption — just a clean, planned switch from one service provider to another, Klair said.
Current service contracts expire Aug. 31 for year-round programs, marking the day of the switch.
The EarlyON program should more or less stay the same, but future providers might offer some differences, he said.
“I wouldn’t be able to say 100 per cent it would be the exact services, but the mandatory component, which is the free drop-in program resources for parents, ability to interact with educators — all those good things — will continue to exist,” Klair said.
Lauren Bubnič, a NOTL parent, says the problem is that some child care providers, such as Port Cares or the YMCA, often hire staff who aren’t as qualified or well-paid as teachers from the Catholic school board, in an email she sent to The Lake Report.
“It won’t be the same standard,” she wrote, adding that she’s visited many EarlyON centres across the region and many lack basic activities.
“They just stand around and don’t engage.”
The region is working to make sure the change is easy and goes well, Klair said.
“We are very confident that we will be able to work towards that September timeline to, at the very least, announce where the EarlyON locations will be and who the provider will be,” he said.
“If it doesn’t happen, we are committed to ensuring that services continue,” he said, adding how that could mean pop-up services until a more long-term solution becomes available.
“We’re working really hard to have a permanent option,” Klair said. “I am fairly confident we will have the providers and the locations announced before August 31.”
“The fact they don’t have a location secured yet is very irresponsible on the region’s part,” wrote Bubnič.
And due to the cost of rent in NOTL, she said, “There will be a delay in service for sure.”
“Rent is so high in NOTL, I really don’t see them (the region) finding a suitable space easily,” said Bubnič, adding that residents pay a higher education levy, yet have less service in their municipality.
“NOTL families already have to travel out of town for just about everything,” said Bubnič.
Bubnič said the EarlyON service she’s fighting to keep isn’t even as strong as what’s offered in other municipalities.
“Every other city gets full-time EarlyOn and child care options,” she said. “We have been getting two half days for at least eight years since I’ve lived here. It’s unacceptable.”
St. Michael’s will close on June 27, since it operates from September to June. It should reopen in September, in a new location, if all goes as planned, Klair said.
“Renovation of a building, etcetera, may take a little bit longer to operationalize it, but this is part of the reason that we have announced this now and not just a month before it’s going to close,” he said.
“We can start working on that process of getting a new service provider in.”
Klair said many residents have misunderstood the situation and called the region with concerns that services are ending.
The region informed educators of the switch and sent letters to families, but communication during a service change can be tricky, he said.
“Could we have done a better job of communicating all parties? Absolutely, but this is something we’ll reflect on and ensure that we can be more proactive in our approach,” he said.
“I’m always happy to take any feedback from families around how we could communicate better.”
Families are understandably worried about losing services in their community and the stir on social media has only further misrepresented the switch, he said.
“It’s like changing a family doctor and changing a building,” he said. “I didn’t directly make any decisions related to the closure, it was a collaborative discussion with the school board.”
The Odrohyageweh “Clear Skies” EarlyON Centre, located at the Niagara Regional Native Centre on Airport Road, continues to offer programming Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., with outdoor programming available weekly.
Those interested can check its website, nrnc.ca/program-guide, for details.
