Community and Protective Services Committee
Comité des services communautaires et de protection
17 February 2011 / le 17 février 2011
Steve
Kanellakos, Deputy City Manager/Directeur municipal adjoint,
City
Operations/Opérations municipales
Contact Person/Personne ressource:
Aaron
Burry, General Manager/ Directeur général,
Community
and Social Services / Services communautaires et sociaux
(613) 580-2424 x x23666, Aaron.Burry@ottawa.ca
SUBJECT:
|
Early
learning - update - INFORMATION
SUPPLEMENTAL TO THE BUDGET ESTIMATES |
|
|
|
OBJET :
|
PETITE ENFANCE - mise à jour - Renseignements supplémentaires aux prévisions
budgétaires |
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Community and Protective Services Committee receive this report as supplemental information to the 2011 Draft Budget.
RECOMMANDATION
DU RAPPORT
Que
le Comité des services communautaires et de protection prenne connaissance de
ce rapport à titre d’information supplémentaire au budget préliminaire de 2011.
This report is provided as information further to the Early Learning –
First Year Implementation Plan approved by Council at its meeting of July 14,
2010 and also responds to a direction (received as part of consideration of the
CPSC 2010 budget at its meeting of October 29, 2009) to prepare “prior to the 2011 budget process a
comprehensive long term capital program (including contributions to the
Childcare Reserve) for licensed not –for-profit childcare centres.”
DISCUSSION
Existing System
There are approximately 21,400 licensed child care spaces available in
the City of Ottawa, of which 6,100 (29%) are fee subsidy spaces. There are presently approximately 6,000
families registered on the centralized waiting list requiring licensed child
care spaces in the next six months, of which 2,000 require subsidized
services.
The City of Ottawa, as the Consolidated Municipal Service Manager
(CMSM) is responsible for the planning and delivery of selected portions of
child care services.
In Ottawa, child care subsidy is managed differently than in all other
CMSMs in Ontario. In Ottawa subsidy is
managed by confirming budgets with 123 child care agencies at the beginning of
each year, whereas in the other 46 of 47 CMSMs the subsidy follows the child.
Currently the City of Ottawa funds approximately 29.5 % of the fee
subsidy budget and is one of the few CMSMs investing directly beyond the 80/20
cost-sharing formula.
The fee subsidy program is the largest portion of the child care
services budget. It is a cost-shared
program with a total budget of approximately $56 million. The program
establishes contracts with community agencies to provide licensed child care
services to families that receive either a full or partial fee subsidy. The mandate for licensed child care has been
to serve children 0 – 10 years of age with child care services that meet their
needs either through full day or part-time care.
Each year, the City of Ottawa as the Consolidated Municipal Service
Manager (CMSM) is required to develop a Child Care System Service Plan for the
Ministry of Children and Youth Services.
Transition to Full Day Early
Learning Program (FDELP)
In 2009, the Province announced the FDELP that will provide full day
kindergarten (FDK) and an option for an extended day (i.e., before and after
school programs) for children 4-10 years of age.
The implementation by the Province of the Full Day Early Learning
Program will shift the responsibility for all child care from the Ministry of
Children and Youth Services to the Ministry of Education.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Education is now responsible for child
care planning and for all funding managed by CMSMs, like the City of Ottawa,
for child care services.
CMSMs will now be responsible for licensed child care services for
children 0 – 3.8 years of age. The local
Boards of Education will be responsible for Full Day Early Learning for 4-5
year olds and before and after school programs for 4-10 year olds attending
school.
The municipality will have a role in determining eligibility and
providing subsidy for children receiving before and after school care by the
school boards. Implementation began in
September 2010 and will be phased in over a five year period.
2010/2011 Child Care Services
Plan
Given the transition to the new system in September 2010, the City was tasked to submit its 2010/11 Child Care Service System Plan to the Province by June 30, 2010 including identification of any stabilization funding that would be required to replace and reconfigure services in the community.
The City, under the direction
of the Province, undertook a call for proposals to community child care
agencies to identify required stabilization funding. The City received 41 requests for stabilization funds
totalling $3.4M from Year 1 affected child care agencies. This
amount reflects $2.9M in operating funding, $318K in one-time minor
capital funding and $204K in other
one-time costs associated with planning and communication strategies related to
increasing agencies’ visibility in the community. The budget pressure was originally identified
by the community when very little information was available and was therefore
based on a potential loss of all 4 and 5 year old care and before and after
school care.
Ultimately, the Province
confirmed 2010 stabilization funding intended for community non-profit licensed
child care agencies in the amount of $596,300 for the Ottawa community, which
is made up of $485,100 in operating funds and $111,200 for one-time minor
capital grants.
City Council, as part of the 2010
budget, had also set aside $1 million in one-time transition funds to assist
agencies in anticipation of the Provincial changes to the child care system.
Based on the above, staff prepared
its draft City of Ottawa 2010/11 Child Care Service System Plan that
recommended the draft allocation of $596,300 of Early Learning Stabilization
Funds to the child care community as well as the draft allocation of up to
$550,000 of the $1,000,000 of municipal funds.
The plan also requested Council
approve the establishment of eight (8) child care service areas for census data
collection and service planning to assist in the local planning and
implementation of the Full Day Early Learning Program in years 2 through 5 of
the transition.
Council
approved the report (ACS2010-COS-CSS-0012) at its meeting of July 14, 2010
including authorizing staff to use as much as necessary of the $1 million to
stabilize transition to the new system.
Current Status
A projected 15% of kindergarten children were originally anticipated
to be enrolled in full day kindergarten in communities across the Province in
September 2010.
Ottawa school boards reporting indicate that approximately 2,400 children are registered in full day kindergarten (FDK) which represents 18% of kindergarten students.
The impacts on subsidized child care services were less than anticipated for a number of reasons:
· When original impacts were being determined there was still limited information from the Province on key financial components that ultimately assisted child care services.
· The Province announced actual levels of stabilization funds for communities and established a cap ($541,800) on transfers from municipal child care budgets to the FDELP and
· The extended day services were not offered in Ottawa at full Year 1 levels.
All these factors together significantly mitigated the effects of year 1 of FDELP on subsidized child care services.
The Province transferred the $485,100 in stabilization funding to the City of Ottawa as on-going funding to the municipal child care operating budget. As noted above, the Province also directed the City to allocate funds from the municipal child care fee subsidy budget to fund families that qualify for a fee subsidy to attend school board run extended day programs to a capped maximum of $541,800 (which represented a potential gap of $56,700 depending upon enrolment levels in the FDELP).
At this time the $56,700 will not be required by the municipality, due to the lower than expected enrolment levels in the school board operated extended day.
Since there is no significant shortfall in 2010 the City has not had to adjust community agencies budgets as children have switched from licensed child care to the extended day program. Child care agencies have retained their purchase of service budgets and have been able to offer a space to another child as children have moved to extended day programs through the schools. This means that agencies have not seen their budgets impacted in 2010.
Community child care agencies still do need to address future program pressures, program design and service delivery options as FDELP continues to be implemented. The community does require the one-time minor capital funding to address transition costs but these can adequately be addressed by the provincial minor capital funds and 100% municipal funds in 2010.
At this time City staff plan to allocate up to $450,000 in 2010 from the $1 million in municipal funds. The current list of community agencies to receive either provincial or municipal stabilization funds in 2010 is attached to this report as Document 1.
This approach allows for better planning and retains funds to respond to year 2, which is anticipated to have a greater impact than year 1 on the community.
2011 Budget
In year 2 of the implementation, in September 2011, another 5% of projected enrolment will be included in the Full Day Kindergarten (FDK) program and it is anticipated that the extended day services will be more widely available through the schools as the operational issues of offering child care becomes more familiar to the school boards.
At this time the Province has made no announcements regarding stabilization funds for year 2. They have also not announced whether there will be a financial cap instituted for transfers of children from subsidized child care to the extended day program. It is clear though that the extended day services offered by the board will dramatically increase over the next two years and could place significant financial pressures on the municipal fee subsidy budget.
The City proposes to use the remaining 100% municipal funds to support community child care agencies to effectively provide the best service possible to children in need of subsidized child care. There is approximately $550,000 in reserve to support year 2 pressures.
For the 2011 calendar year, the funding level for the City of Ottawa and for other Consolidated Municipal Service Managers (CMSMs,) is based on historical allocations. At present, the City still does not know what its allocation for stabilization and extended day fee subsidies will be. The base budget in future years for the purchase of child care services will be established by the Ministry of Education. The services will shift from 0-10 year olds to 0-3.8 year olds over the next 5 years, but the budget available to provide those services has not been established by the Province. Once the City has better financial information in regards to stabilization funds, extended day fee subsidies and service targets from the Province, City staff will include the development of a capital budget in its planning. The City will work with community child care agencies in order to shift services to provide care to children 0-3.8 years of age. The City will work with community agencies to ensure that the shift in services does not jeopardize services to current families with children aged 4- 10 years old. The City is also committed to ensuring both continuity of care and that families will not lose their fee subsidy because of the FDELP.
RURAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no specific rural implications associated with this report.
There was no consultation undertaken as part of the development of this information report.
There are no legal / risk implications associated with this report.
There are no financial implications associated with this report.
Community and Social Services Department will action any direction received as part of consideration of this report.
Document 1
List of Agencies Receiving Provincial and Municipal Capital
Stabilization Funding
Provincial Funds ($110,100)
Carleton Memorial Daycare
Barrhaven Child Care Centre
City View Centre for Child and Family Services
Municipal Funds ($450,000)
Annavale Headstart Program
Andrew Fleck Child Care Services
Children’s Village of Ottawa-Carleton
City View Centre for Child and Family Services
Fairview Child Care Centre
Global Child Care Services
Licensed Home Child Care Network
Odawa Sweetgrass Home Child Care
Queensway Preschool
Wee Watch – Kanata/Hunt Club
Wee Watch – Nepean
Wee Watch – Ottawa East/Orleans