County being considered for aboriginal child care spaces

The County of Simcoe has been selected by the Province as one of 14 municipal service managers being considered as a potential site for the proposed development of off-reserve, culturally appropriate, licensed child care spaces for aboriginal children.

Priority consideration will be given to child care proposals submitted by Aboriginal community stakeholders delivering programs and support services to Aboriginal children and families. The effective delivery of child care services to Aboriginal children and families will vary depending on the unique needs of each community.

The County is accepting submissions of 'Expression of Interest' which may include proposals for new Aboriginal child care programs or expanded existing, licensed Aboriginal child care programs.

In November 2004, the Province introduced its "Best Start" plan. "Best Start" is a comprehensive, evidence-based early learning and child care strategy designed to strengthen healthy development, early learning and child care services to help give Ontario's children the best possible start in life and help them achieve success at school. As the service system manager, the County of Simcoe is responsible for the planning and managing of child care services at the local level.

Through collaborative planning with community partners and service providers, significant progress towards implementing the "Best Start" vision has been achieved. Subsequent to an October, 2005 meeting between Aboriginal stakeholders and the Minister of Children and Youth Services, a provincial Aboriginal Working Group, was formed to better understand the child care needs and challenges facing the Aboriginal community and to develop mechanisms to support access to culturally appropriate "Best Start" child care programs for Aboriginal families.

"With the County being considered as one potential site for the proposed development of off-reserve, culturally appropriate, licensed child care spaces for aboriginal children, we feel this is a wonderful step forward to enhance services for Aboriginal children in our area," said Greg Bishop, Manager of Children and Community Services at the County of Simcoe. "We are undergoing the process of accepting expressions of interest now and are looking forward to hearing from the Ministry of Children and Youth Services by Sept. 30, as to the County's acceptance as a site for these Aboriginal child care spaces."