New Child Care Spaces in Northumberland Expand Access for Families

Pete Fisher
17 hours ago
• Categories: Local

Fifty children will move from waiting lists to new child care spaces by January 20th, with an additional 82 children set to be placed, following the successful renovation and licensing of three facilities for child care services at the end of 2024. Northumberland County is pleased to announce this significant milestone in the effort to address the growing demand for child care in the community.

New spaces to be filled by January 20th include:

· 30 spaces with Ganaraska Child Care at the former Ruth Clarke Activity Centre in Port Hope, located at 81 Mill Street South.

· 15 spaces with YMCA Northumberland at 161 Old Hastings Road in Warkworth.

· 5 spaces with YMCA Northumberland at Northumberland Centre for Individual Studies, located at 780 D’Arcy Street in Cobourg.

Child care providers are working diligently to meet increased demand. A hiring process is underway for over 10 new staff members across these facilities to help ensure the remaining 82 spaces open as soon as possible.

“This progress would not have been possible without the strong collaboration of our partners,” states County Early Years Services Manager Lesley Patterson. “We thank our two child care providers for their dedication and support in managing services at these new facilities. The Municipality of Port Hope has also prioritized this initiative, playing an essential role by making municipal facility space available to expedite this expansion. Additionally, we would like to recognize our construction partners, for completing the renovations required to make these spaces available to the community.”

These spaces are part of a broader expansion initiative by the County, in partnership with the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, local municipalities and community organizations. Through this expansion, the County plans to provide a total of 404 new high-quality, affordable, and accessible early learning and child care services to families in Northumberland by the end of 2026.

“This expansion is not just about meeting current needs,” states Ms. Patterson. “It is also about ensuring that future generations of children have access to the best start in life through high-quality, inclusive early childhood education.”

These child care expansion efforts have been made possible thanks to nearly $1.7 million in funding from the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario. This funding has been allocated for construction, equipment, and supplies necessary for the facility upgrades and retrofits.

“The investment from our provincial and federal partners has been instrumental in helping us meet the growing demand for child care in our community,” says Warden Brian Ostrander. “We are grateful for their continued support, which will ensure that more families in our community have access to affordable and high-quality early learning and child care services.”

Northumberland County is committed to supporting families and ensuring that children have access to the resources they need to thrive.

Families in need of child care are strongly encouraged to get their names on waitlists for any of the child care facilities in their area, as this will increase the chances of securing a placement.

Interested in a career in the Early Years sector? Learn more about the benefits of working in Early Years, and view a list of local job opportunities at Northumberland.ca/ECE.

Track the County’s performance in delivering on child care expansion efforts by visiting our online performance dashboard at Northumberland.ca/Dashboard. Updates for the fourth quarter of 2024 will be available by early February.