As Niagara-on-the-Lake’s new EarlyON Child and Family Centre prepares to open at the town’s library this September, parents are hopeful, but with demand for childcare in town showing no signs of going down, some hope more support is coming down the pike.
A new partnership between the Niagara Region and the Niagara Falls Public Library was announced on July 21, bringing one EarlyON service to the Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library and four additional sites in Niagara Falls libraries — adding to the city’s one existing location.
EarlyON centres differ from daycares: while daycares offer a paid service that supervises and cares for children, EarlyON is a free, drop-in program of playtime and social activities that kids take part in with their parents (and other children).
One parent worries a single location won’t meet the needs of a growing town. Another says the tight turnaround could disrupt families’ routines.
A third, who runs a home daycare, fears the move means she can no longer use the services like she did at the former location at St. Michael Catholic Elementary School.
Parent Lauren Bubnič called the single site in NOTL “quite underserved” in an email. Right now, there’s a three-year waitlist for childcare in town — a sign, she said, that NOTL needs “more robust” care programs for kids.
Not all parents agree.
Natasha Freitas, a parent who uses and also ran EarlyON pop-up sessions last year, said one site feels like enough for now, but she hopes it will eventually offer more days per week.
“I truly believe in the importance of the EarlyON programming and the relationships it supports,” said Freitas in an email.
She praised the NOTL library for its potential and said she’s “so happy” to see more sites opening across the region.
“I think this could be really good for NOTL,” said Freitas, adding the library is staffed with “fantastic” registered early childhood educators for EarlyON, who “make the program,” she said.
Still, the quick turnaround leaves Freitas with concerns: “I hope the transition is smooth.”
“These programs are so important for families who need support and a big delay would be detrimental on their routines.”
Earlier this year, the region faced criticism over its limited communication about the provider change.
However, the region’s director of children’s services, Satinder Klair, said that it has since improved its outreach by “not relying on just one way of communicating,” he said.
Communication was trickier back in April, Klair said, because the region could not announce as many specific details — it was still trying to select the new service provider.
“So I can understand the families felt, ‘Oh, this program is ending, there’s no other options for me,’” he said.
“This is a little bit different.”
“We’re taking a bit more of a hands-on approach by ensuring that families have transitioned before the centers actually open,” said Klair.
Freitas said the Niagara Catholic District School Board set a strong standard for EarlyON centres.
“I’ve come to see how much our families depend on these programs,” she said.
The program at St. Michael was always busy, she said, and the events and outings she organized in NOTL were well attended.
“I expect the library will be the same,” she said. “This is an exciting opportunity for the library to do something great.”
The Niagara Falls library board chair, Anne Andres-Jones, said the library “is a logical partner.”
“They’re already accessible, it’s a modern space, they have some good children’s programming and it seems like parking is good there,” said Andres-Jones.
Klair said families with children over six can also use other library services while younger ones attend EarlyON — reducing the need to visit multiple places and building more hubs for families.
But Bubnič said the town’s library is not big enough to support its rapidly growing population.
Fellow parent Sharron Auld agrees.
“I think it’s a little small,” she said. “I don’t know if they’re going to open it up to make it a bigger space.”
Auld has her own home daycare in Niagara Falls and usually has five children with her at one time. At St. Michael’s, she would bring the kids there every Tuesday and Friday.
“Just for a variety change,” she said. “And I liked the staff.”
But now, the new service provider says she can no longer bring five children with her at a time — only one.
The Niagara Falls library told Auld its early literacy programs are designed for one-on-one interactions and aren’t suited for group care.
It offered to create a separate monthly program specifically for her daycare, acknowledging the important role home providers play in early childhood development.
But right now, the only EarlyON site Auld can access in Niagara Falls or NOTL is at Kate S. Durdan Public School — the only location in the area not operated by the library, but by the District School Board of Niagara.
So for now, there are no more Tuesday and Friday outings — and no more variety — for the kids in her care.
The provincial and federal governments fund the program, “but it’s not tied to the education levy per se,” said Klair.
Although the region hasn’t finalized the details of its plan to collect community feedback on how services are running, when that time comes, Freitas said she’s ready to take part.
And Freitas said she’s approaching it with an open mind.
“I would love to,” she said. “I want what’s best for the families and will always advocate for that.”
