P.E.I. universal before and after school possible but gaps have to be filled, says report

A universal before and after school care program could be up and running on P.E.I. by 2030, but large gaps in the current system would have to be filled first, according to a consultant's report released by the provincial government.

The report is the product of something the P.E.I. government has been talking about for nearly two years: having universally affordable, and accessible before and after school care across the Island.

It recommends that the program be offered in every K-6 school on the Island, or in modular units on school properties. It said a price of $10 a day is possible, but it would take government funding.

The report says finding the physical locations for the centres to go, the funding to keep them open, and the staff to work inside them would be some of the road blocks. 

New report says universal before and after school care program possible by 2030

4 days ago

Duration 2:14

A consultant hired by the P.E.I. government says a universal before and after school care program is doable by the year 2030. That consultant's report was just made public, six months after it was completed. At a legislative committee meeting, the opposition questioned why government isn't moving faster to make a universal program a reality. CBC's Steve Bruce reports.

The report lays out a five-year plan to work through those issues. Just how closely the government will follow that plan isn't clear.

"We consider the report certainly a tool to inform this work as it goes forward," said Sonya Hooper, assistant deputy minister of early years.

"We've had several meetings with the sector and the ECDA (Early Childhood Development Association of PEI), so this work is ongoing."

The report, which the consultant finished six months ago, was only given to MLAs on the education and economic growth standing committee about 15 minutes before it was presented by department of education officials.

I don't know if we are moving fast enough.- MLA Gord McNeilly

The delay led some MLAs to question why government is not moving faster on an issue it has said is important.  

"I understand you're talking about evaluations and whatnot. But people don't have before and after school care, and it's been a major problem for a number of years," said Liberal MLA Gord McNeilly.

"People are approaching us with that concern.  And I don't know if we are moving fast enough or if we have moved fast enough."

Education officials told the committee it's not clear how many families need before and after-school care that don't have it because there is not good tools to figure that out. 

"It makes it difficult to gauge, 'What's that number?'" said Hooper. 

However, according to the report, there is just one space in a before and after school care program for every five children in kindergarten to Grade 6.

Some MLAs questioned how government could move forward with a plan like this, without knowing how many kids need the care during the legislative committee meeting on Thursday. 

"I can't imagine trying to complete this work without having any sort of number," said P.E.I. Green Party interim leader Karla Bernard.

Bringing in a universal program on the Island would take further conversations with people operating programs for school-aged kids to get a handle on how it could be implemented, Hooper said.

In August, the province offered grants to operators to help cover some of their costs and to encourage new programs to start up. The deadline to apply for funding is Friday.

They'll evaluate how much that funding helps, before they decide what to do next, officials said.