Emergency Child Care For Health Care And Front Line Workers

On March 17, 2020, the Premier of Ontario declared a state of
emergency, and ordered the closure of all licensed child care centres until at least March 31,
2020. This direction from the Premier does not currently apply to home-based licensed or
unlicensed child care providers.

Today, the Government of Ontario announced their intention to provide emergency licensed
child care for frontline workers. The County of Wellington is working to assess child care needs
through an online survey.

In anticipation of the need for emergency child care in the Wellington service delivery area, the
County’s Children’s Early Years Division is considering several options for licensed child care.
These options include; in-home child care, child care in a provider’s home, and limited centrebased child care.

The County of Wellington is working closely with Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health to
ensure we do everything possible to support the health and safety of all those helping to deliver
emergency child care in our communities and the children and families who will be accessing it.

“The County recognizes that courageous health care and other frontline workers must continue
to provide their important work,” said Luisa Artuso, Director of the Children’s Early Years
Division. “The County is making every effort to support these workers through the provision of
a licensed child care arrangement.”

Eligibility requirements and the needs assessment survey will be available on the County’s
website on Tuesday, March 24, 2020.