Monday, July 30, 2007 - 07:00
Barrie Examiner
Local News - Simcoe County's aboriginal children might be getting some much-needed day-care space later this year.
The county is among 14 others in the running for funding from the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services to provide specified aboriginal child-care spaces for off-reserve children.
"We've consulted with aboriginal families and identified clearly the need for specific, aboriginally-run child care services off the reserve in the county," said Greg Bishop, the county's manager of children and community services. "We're excited about this and it's good news for the county. It's a first step to addressing all gaps in availability of aboriginal child services."
Bishop says there is on-reserve child care available in Rama through Mnjikaning First Nations. But there's nothing in place for those outside its boundaries.
County officials and local non-profit organizations willing to help sustain child-care spaces must now submit a written plan called an Expression of Interest Package to show the ministry how the county would best use funding to sustain aboriginal child care in a public facility.
"The package must include a proposal of location, program size, ages of children served," Bishop said.
"It's still too premature for me to say at this point where the child-care program would be (housed)."
The development of these child care spaces is an expansion project funded by the Ministry's Best Start program, introduced in November 2004.
In October 2005, the Minister of Children and Youth Services met with aboriginal stakeholders to discuss what services were needed in each county.
For Simcoe, more child care was a must for the native people.
"We know of families who actually want to move their children from a mainstream program to one more focused on their culture," Bishop said.
By September, the county will know whether there is hope for this kind of program here or not.