Dear editor,
Recently I viewed Marketplace’s program entitled “Who is Watching the Kids?” and it concerned me and a number of my team at PacificCARE.
It was an investigation of complaints in regards to unlicensed day cares in Toronto.
It is timely to remind people on Vancouver Island that Pacific Child Family and Enrichment Society can help.
Our organization (Known as PacificCARE), has provided the Child Care Resource and Referral Program (CCRR) for the past 23 years on Vancouver Island. We are a regional program operating on North and Central Vancouver Island.
Our child care consultants are educated and dedicated to the child care field; and one of our main mandates as a CCRR program is to enhance the quality of child care. We actively seek and recruit care providers who are doing child care without being licensed.
One of the service standards from our funders, the Ministry of Children and Families, is to register licensed not required care providers.
On our website you can view the registration process, which is thorough and professional and includes: Requirements for a criminal record check, a health and safety assessment, medical confirmation that an individual is physically/mentally fit, a valid first aid certificate and a minimum of 20 hours of family child care training available through PacificCARE.
Professional development training includes: Good Beginnings, Responsible Adult Training, Emergency Preparedness and Business in a Box (and others).
A signed, standardized commitment and agreement form is required. We also provide access to affordable liability insurance for care providers through Coastal Community Insurance; and we support our clients who require subsidy assistance.
Come into our office and we can provide the forms, assist in completing the application, and provide access to a direct line to subsidy. Our Nanaimo, Courtenay and Port Alberni offices offer weekly drop-ins for children and families also.
Recently we achieved reaccreditation status, demonstrating best practices, transparency and value based leadership. Encouraging individuals who are unlicensed to become registered as LNRs is a best practice, and promotes quality child care.
We welcome you, and offer information, education and support. Check out our website for a location nearest to you (www.pacific-care.bc.ca).
Dianne Magor
Editor's note: Dianne Magor is the executive director of PacificCARE.