Puslinch Today

COUNTY AND YM-YWCA OF GUELPH TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY CHILD CARE FOR HEALTH CARE AND FRONTLINE WORKERS

The County of Wellington has entered into a service agreement with the YM-YWCA of Guelph to provide emergency child care spaces at its Kensington Y Child Care Centre in Guelph. The centre will open its doors on Monday, May 4 and will provide 20 spaces for children up to 12 years of age.

The County continues to work in partnership with the Ministry of Education to support health care and other frontline workers in Guelph and Wellington by providing access to licensed child care at no cost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The County would like to thank the YM-YWCA of Guelph for opening their Kensington Y Child Care Centre to provide these much needed emergency child care spaces,” said Luisa Artuso, Director of the County’s Children’s Early Years Division. “Currently, there is a waiting list of over 300 children in Guelph and Wellington County. We expect that number to significantly increase with the recent provincial announcement expanding the list of eligible workers. These 20 spaces will help a lot of families who are providing critical services in our community.”

All current child care policies and requirements set out in the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, will apply to licensed child care settings providing emergency child care services. The County has worked with Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health to develop policies and procedures that will be required in the operation of approved emergency licensed child care settings to help limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

“The Guelph Y is grateful for the opportunity to continue supporting our community by opening up these spaces,” said Geoff Vogt, CEO YMCA-YWCA of Guelph. “This is such a challenging time for our community and our country, and we are honoured to support the families that are on the front lines fighting this virus. We are also grateful to our staff for stepping up and making themselves available.”

The County’s Children’s Early Years Division is continuing its recruitment for child care providers to offer care in their own homes or the homes of the essential workers. Interested providers are asked to visit www.wellington.ca/emergencychildcare.