For many working families, the school day and the workday simply do not line up.

Before- and after-school child care fills that gap, allowing parents and caregivers to work while knowing their children have a safe place to go before the first bell and after classes end. But what happens when that care suddenly disappears?

Families in Goderich are confronting exactly that problem.

A recent CTV London report highlighted parents’ concerns after the announcement of a temporary closure of a before- and after-school program in Goderich. Families are now urging their school board to act, illustrating just how disruptive the loss of school-age child care can be.

But Goderich may not be alone.

What Is Happening Across Ontario?

B2C2 wants to understand whether families in other Ontario communities are experiencing similar problems.

Are before- and after-school programs closing in your community?

Has your child’s program reduced the number of spaces available?

Are you sitting on a waitlist even though there appears to be significant demand from families?

Has a program closed because it could not find enough staff or because an operator could no longer provide the service?

Have you had to change your work schedule, reduce your hours, rely on family members or make other arrangements because you cannot find care before or after school?

We want to hear from you.

School-Age Child Care Is an Essential Part of the Child Care System

Ontario requires school boards to ensure before- and after-school programs are available at elementary schools serving children from Kindergarten to Grade 6 where demand is sufficient, and the program is viable. A school board may operate programs directly or through a third-party provider, including a licensed child care operator.

Importantly, provincial guidance also says that when a third-party program stops operating, school boards must ensure another program is available, although its fees, hours, and days of operation may change.

Yet having a requirement on paper does not necessarily mean that every family who needs care can find a space.

Demand can exceed the number of available spaces. For example, the Waterloo Region District School Board currently warns families that some of its before- and after-school programs may have waiting lists because of increased demand.

That matters because child care does not stop being necessary when a child enters school.

Parents still need to get to work before school starts. They still need care between the end of the school day and the end of their workday. Without reliable school-age care, families can be left scrambling to fill those hours.

Help Us Understand What Is Happening

The situation in Goderich raises a larger question:

How widespread are problems accessing before- and after-school child care across Ontario?

B2C2 would like to hear directly from parents, caregivers, child care providers and others experiencing these challenges.

If your before- or after-school program has closed, reduced spaces, developed a lengthy waitlist, or you simply cannot find a space for your child, please get in touch and tell us what is happening in your community.

Individual stories can help us understand whether what families are experiencing locally reflects a larger provincial problem, and take action!

Before- and after-school care may cover only a few hours of a child’s day, but for working families, those hours can make the difference between having child care and not having child care at all.