67% of Windsor kids live in child care deserts: report

A new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives shows 67 per cent of non-school-aged children in Windsor are living in a child care desert.

If a postal code has at least three children competing for one space in a licensed child care setting, that is considered a desert, the report says.

Compared to the national average of 44 per cent, Windsor ranks eighth for having a high proportion of kids living in a child care desert.

However, the situation varies depending on the area in the city, says David Macdonald, lead author of the study.

"Situation is better as you get further east, as Windsor approaches Tecumseh, and also if you go south, so if you get South Windsor, you get much better coverage rates there," he said.

"But nonetheless, I mean there's big sections of the city where you've got a lot of kids, but not a lot of spaces."

Differences between neighbourhoods

In an interactive map released along with the report, it shows that east Riverside is the worst spot in the city in terms of coverage — at only 3 per cent. On the other hand, Tecumseh has a 99 per cent coverage rate.

The need for care can be seen at the Howard Avenue location of The Toy Box Early Education Childhood Education.

"We have a lot of families that drive out from east Riverside to come here, and some of them actually work out in east Riverside," said Melissa Morgan, a supervisor at the child care centre.

She said they had to open a second location a block away on McDougall Street because the demand from factories, hospitals and cross-border workers are so high.

Toy Box will also be opening another location on Walker Road to meet the anticipated demand once the mega-hospital is open.

Currently, Toy Box services about 300 families with its independent locations and four on-site child care spots in schools across the city.

Worries about provincial funding

The City of Windsor did a survey with families to find out what the needs in the communities are, and they found that affordability is a big issue.

One of the things the city is doing is providing subsidies for families that need them.

"We do not have a waitlist for subsidies, and we haven't had one for a long time," said Debbie Cercone, the executive director of housing and children services at the city.

"If you need a subsidized child care space, you can apply for one and you will get one."

The city is also providing grants for child care centres in order to keep their costs low so more families can afford them.

Cercone said this new report validates some concerns they already had about child care availability.

The city is looking to expand spaces in the next couple of years and also continuing to reduce fees with provincial money, but the change in government has Cercone worried.

"If those dollars aren't there, we won't be able to continue with those initiatives," Cercone said. "We would have to end a number of programs that we are currently operating."