Sask.'s largest child-care provider says insufficient funding leaves operators scrambling

Insufficient funding for inclusion is leaving child-care operators in a "very difficult situation," say the YMCAs of Saskatchewan.

"We can either fail to provide adequate staffing to safely and appropriately deliver care to children with exceptionalities, or experience a financial shortfall in delivering the care. Neither is acceptable or sustainable," said a statement issued by the organizations on Tuesday.

Steve Compton, CEO of the YMCA of Regina, told CBC News in an interview Wednesday that they have 18 students, the second-highest number in the province, partnered with the government's enhanced accessibility (EA) grant.

Under the EA grant, not more than $2,000 per month is provided to assist with the additional cost of supervising a child with exceptionally high diverse needs. The grants are approved for a maximum period of 12 months. 

"It's challenging for parents to get assessments to get the eligibility for the grant, but it's also challenging for child-care providers to be able to offer specialized care," Compton said.

Compton said the grant also has not kept up with inflation, which is rapidly pushing operators to the point where offering care is no longer sustainable.

With the 18 children who are currently in YMCA's care through the EA grant, Compton said it creates a $243,000 deficit for the YMCA.

"There's a perception that an EA grant is incremental, when really what it does is, if you have a child that is one-on-one with an educator, it doesn't meet the wages that the YMCA pays, [and] deductions, benefits, all those type of things," he said.

On average, Compton said each EA child in their care is supported out of pocket by YMCA for $13,500. 

"The concern becomes that we don't want to be in a situation where we would ever have to turn children away that have more intensive needs or specialized care," he said.

"But financially, it's very difficult, because for us as a charity, that could be the difference between being above the water line financially in any given year."

Compton said the government should look into the long-term sustainability of the EA program. On a rolling basis, if their numbers stay consistent in four years, he said it would cost the YMCA $1 million.

"We haven't stopped accepting children and our intention is not to stop," he said. "We're just advocating for a review of this and fair treatment for operators so that we can support parents, and they can put their child in safe, inclusive child care."

Compton said he hopes a newly elected government will revisit the EA grant to provide certainty of funding over the long term.