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Having access to affordable quality childcare is a "very essential service", said Elaine Levy, director of children's services at WoodGreen Community Services.
"Most of our families need the child care as a support so the parents can go back to work, back to school," she said, adding a positive learning environment is also essential for kids.
"We have very inclusive and multicultural centres. It's really a great early learning experience for the children."
The east-end social service agency runs eight licensed day care centres for more than 700 infants to school-aged children.
WoodGreen's centres are among 650 across Toronto that have a purchase of service agreement with the City of Toronto, meaning they're eligible to receive child care fee subsidies that assist families with the cost of child care.
The city operates 55 child care centres in Toronto with space for 2,849 children; the majority of who receive subsidies. Across the board there are 24,000 fee subsidies. An additional 20,000 children are on a waiting list to receive assistance.
As part of its Core Service Review, the city has retained management consulting firm KPMG to look at ways to save money.
One of those options is to cut 2,700 fee subsidy spaces for child care.
Locally, 49 of the 441 spots in Ward 30 (Toronto-Danforth) and 37 of the 325 spaces in Ward 32 (Beaches-East York) could be eliminated.
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"Any cuts to the system really hurt. It doesn't make sense as a move," said Levy, pointing to the many trickle-down effects.
"If parents can't afford child care, they can't contribute to society. In the childcare sector, if spaces are cut people also lose jobs."
Levy said if anything the number of subsidies should be increased.
"There should be absolutely no cuts to subsidies. It really is such an essential service, not just in this community, but in every community."
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The funding available provides 24,000 child care fee subsidies, which is only enough to support 28 per cent of Toronto's low-income children.
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Sarah Rogers, a Toronto laywer, and her filmmaker husband put their unborn daughter on the waiting list at three child care centres the week they found out they were expecting.
"I have a colleague, who even though she took an extended maternity leave, upon coming back to work still didn't have a child care space she was comfortable with," Rogers said.
While Rogers and her husband, who live in Leslieville, are better off financially than those on the subsidy waiting list, she said affordability is still an issue.
One of the centres they're waiting on costs $2,000 a month for an infant space while another is $1,800.
"Even though I am a lawyer, it is a tremendous amount of money," she said, adding it's more than the mortgage on their home near Pape Avenue and Gerrard Street East.
"I heard it was in the $1,000 to $1,200 range. I had no idea it was going to cost that much."
If a child care space doesn't come through when Rogers is ready to return to work, her husband may stay home with their daughter for six months or a year. (Child care spaces for toddlers are 10 to 15 per cent lower).
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- reprinted from Inside Toronto