MEDICINE HAT, AB — Finding child care in Medicine Hat can be difficult.
It gets even more challenging when parents have twins, or kids under two years old.
The news of a second child care centre announcing it would be closing its doors this June means 66 spots are being eliminated.
That’s on top of 21 spots lost earlier this year.
Parents are calling centres and day homes, desperate to find care for their children, but it’s not easy.
“The main age group that you will find a struggle to find child care is infants, children up to 19 months of age,” said Jennifer Usher, coordinator with the Medicine Hat and District Child Care Association. “It’s a little bit tricky because the ratios are so low, which is great. We want to see one child care provider with three infants, so that makes it a little tough because you have such low ratios in those infant spaces.”
Usher went on to say it has been hard for centres to find qualified, educated staff.
Day home agencies have also been struggling to find providers who are willing to work with an agency.
“I have actually talked to directors who have spaces that they could open up if they could find a qualified educator,” she said.
She added that college students who are taking early childhood education often find work immediately, but the numbers still aren’t there.
“The tricky part is we’re not graduating enough educators to make up the demand,” Usher added.
