Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) trustees are concerned about the closure of numerous YMCA of Simcoe Muskoka (YSM) before- and after-school programs across the county, and are being forced to explore “creative” solutions for families who require the programs.
According to SCDSB chair and Orillia area trustee, Jodi Lloyd, five of YSM’s care programs have closed over the past few years, with another four slated for closure in 2022.
The YSM before and after-school program at Rama Central Public School closed in 2019, and YSM recently announced that another, the program at Uptergrove Public School, will not be returning this September following its initial closure in December of 2021.
“We have parents where both have to work now to survive, and here we are in a small community, where we had daycare, and the YMCA is now saying that daycare will no longer be available,” trustee Peter Beacock lamented about the Uptergrove situation at a board meeting earlier this month. “I think we're going to continue to lose programs, and for the most part it appears it’s in smaller areas.”
At Uptergrove, Lloyd said the program averages 13 children in the morning, and 14 in the afternoon. She says the broader closure of the before- and after-school programs in the county will affect many families.
"As me move on through the pandemic and things return to normal, people who previously might have been able to work at home are being asked to come back into the office," Lloyd said. "I think this will, in all likelihood, disproportionately affect mothers who are working who have to address childcare."
Lloyd said school board staff will bring a report to their June meeting to begin a discussion on finding solutions with YMS.
“I understand that many organizations are facing staffing challenges, but I also think organizations need to look at new and innovative ways to attract staff,” she said. “We need … to work collaboratively together to service these families.”
“It is (our) intention to bring a report to the June program meeting outlining … how the child care programs work, the before and after school programs, how it is determined who's running those programs, so we can have a very fulsome discussion because I too am very, very concerned about this.”
In an interview with OrilliaMatters, Lloyd stressed a major issue with keeping YSM programs open is staffing — a problem for many other post-pandemic businesses and services.
“Many, many industries right now are facing staffing challenges and staffing shortages, but I think the one thing we've learned through the pandemic is we need to think outside the box, we need to come up with creative solutions,” she said. "It's very easy to close a program --- it takes far more work and far more effort to find a solution."
Lloyd highlighted how, at the height of the pandemic, teacher candidates who were still in university were permitted to teach in Ontario schools that faced staffing shortages.
“If we wanted to keep schools open, we had to use all the available resources we had. I believe in childcare we're going to have to look at solutions to the staffing shortage,” she said.
She stressed the importance of YSM care programs, as they are “the largest childcare provider in Simcoe County,” and said she has had a preliminary meeting with the CEO of YSM.
“There's very little in the way of childcare providers within Simcoe County other than the YMCA,” she said. “I did reach out as chair of the board to the acting CEO of (YSM). We did have a preliminary meeting on Friday afternoon in which I shared our concerns as a board and as trustees.”
In a statement, Fiona Cascagnette, the VP of children and youth development for the region's YMCA, confirmed the before- and after-school program at Uptergrove Public School will not open again in September, and highlighted “record staffing shortages” across the Canadian childcare industry.
“It has been a challenging year for all of us, especially our YMCA families and children, who have had to shoulder a burden during the difficult months of the pandemic,” she said.
“The Canadian child care industry has been experiencing record staffing shortages due to a number of factors, which have been exacerbated by the pandemic.”
However, Cascagnette said the remaining 10 programs in the area will remain open, and that the organization is committed to expanding its presence in the region.
“All 10 of the YMCA's active before and after school programs in Orillia and surrounding areas will remain open,” she said. “Our licensed child care programs in Orillia continue to provide quality care to close to 500 children and their families, and we look forward to serving this community for many years to come.
“We are committed to working collaboratively with our partners in the sector to support the growth of our workforce in the region.”
