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October 27, 2009 PROVINCE DESIGNATES FUNDS FOR NEW AND REVITALIZED CHILD-CARE CENTRES IN WINNIPEG: SELINGERManitoba continues its aggressive pace in expanding, renovating and creating new child-care spaces by approving 16 centres in Winnipeg for $2.35 million in funding, Premier Greg Selinger announced today.
“Parents need to know they have access to high-quality, affordable child care,” said Selinger. “Manitoba is committed to making additional spaces available and is working aggressively to recruit and retain more child-care workers to staff them.”
Five of the centres to be built or renovated under the Family Choices initiative are:
· Concordia Hospital: A new centre will be created by renovating space in the hospital complex.
· Morrow Avenue Child Care in St. Vital: An under-utilized space within the centre will be expanded.
· Discovery and Horizons children’s centres: The facility will be renovated and upgraded in co‑operation with the St. James-Assiniboia School Division.
· Urban Circle Training Centre: A new centre will provide child-care spaces for students of the Urban Circle Training Centre, the University of Manitoba inner-city social work program, and the community.
· Lord Selkirk Park: In partnership with Manitoba Housing, a conversion of main floor space in a housing complex will provide infant, preschool and school-age spaces. There will also be a family resource centre set up in conjunction with the child-care facility.
The province is also investing $740,000 in new equipment for day cares throughout the province, Selinger said.
Since Family Choices, Manitoba’s five-year initiative for early learning and child care was launched in April 2008, funding for 2,850 child-care spaces has been announced. The province is well on its way to meeting its commitment of funding 6,500 spaces and 35 new child-care sites by 2013, said the premier.
A key part of Family Choices is the Workforce Stability Strategy, which has increased the number of child-care workers by 1,900 compared with five years ago. The strategy includes:
· Wage increases: Front-line early childhood educators have had a wage increase of 42 per cent since 1999. Graduates of college-level diploma programs can now expect to earn $32,000 per year on graduation.
· Recruitment: “It’s the small wonders that make this career great” worker recruitment campaign was launched this spring.
· Scholarships: Family Choices scholarships were created for 20 Grade 12 students entering an early childhood educator (ECE) program at Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface and the University College of the North.
· Training: Training grants were increased 40 per cent to $350 from $250. These grants are also being made available to ECE IIs who wish to upgrade.
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