A new study finds there are more children than available child care spaces
The Windsor-area has been deemed a "child care desert."
That's according to a new study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
A report released today indicates 776,000 Canadian children live in areas of the country devoid of available daycare spaces. 44% of all school-aged children are living in so-called "child care deserts"' where the number of children outstrips available spaces in licensed homes and daycare centres.
Of the 28 cities examined, Windsor has the seventh lowest coverage, with 67% of children living in a so-called "child care desert."
The report also provides a closer look at individual city neighbourhoods and Essex County. Tecumseh has the highest rate of coverage at 99% with 779 spaces available for children under the age of three compared to 785 kids in that area.
Windsor South Central (76%) Windsor South (68%) and LaSalle East (50%) are also among the best in the area. The East Riverside neighbourhood has the worst level of coverage at 3%.
Coverage in Essex and Amherstburg falls in the range of 36-37%. Kingsville is at 18% while Leamington is at 9%.
Speaking on AM800's the Lynn Martin Show, Windsor's Executive Director of Housing and Children's Services Debbie Cercone says the number of spaces in Windsor has grown in recent years.
"We are working with our child care operators to pay for capital to expand spaces," she says. "Last year, we expanded the number of spaces in our community by over 500."
Cercone says there is not a waiting list for child care subsidies in Windsor so that isn't an issue.
Policy Co-ordinator at the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care Carolyn Ferns says the study puts numbers to what the coalition has been hearing on the ground for years which is that parents are scrambling to find child care spaces.
"I think what it speaks to is really the need for public planning. If you compare the way we deal with child care with the way we deal with education, it couldn't be more different. You don't have parents scrambling to say I don't know if I will have a space for my Grade 1 child."
The study didn't take into account unlicensed daycare because there is no exhaustive list of the spaces Canada-wide.
The report concludes, fewer than 5% of children in Charlottetown and Quebec cities were under-served, compared with Saskatoon, where every child lived in a child care desert.
CLICK HERE to find an interactive map to learn more about the coverage in your area.