COVID-19: Child Care Response Plan
YMCA Child Care / Licenced Spring Break Care COVID-19 FAQ
For the safety of our children, families and staff, we will do the following:
For children & families:
- We will be screening children when they arrive daily.
- All families will be asked to complete a Health Declaration Form at drop-off/sign-in each day until further notice. If parents or caregivers say yes to any of the questions, the child cannot participate in the program. The Declaration Form asks:
- Has your child or anyone in your household had many of the following symptoms in the last 14 days? (Fever over 38.5 degrees Celsius, sneezing, coughing, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath)
- Has your child or anyone in your household knowingly come in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19? (Please note that we appreciate that health care workers apply additional protective measures in their workplace and as such, this question most likely will not apply)
- Has your child or anyone in your household travelled in the last 14 days outside Canada?
- Children cannot attend the program for 14 days if they:
- Knowingly have been in direct contact with someone who is a confirmed case of COVID-19;
- Have travelled outside Canada;
- If the staff or anyone in the household has come in contact with someone who has taken a positive COVID-19 test or been asked to self-isolate based on Public Health.
- YMCA staff will request permission to take the temperature of children prior to sign in each day with a quick scan thermometer. If parents/guardians don’t consent, the child cannot participate in the program. If the child has a fever of 38.5 degrees Celsius or higher, they cannot participate in the program.
- If anyone develops symptoms of any illness or has a fever during a program, they will be sent home on a case-by-base basis.
For staff:
- YMCA staff are not permitted to attend work at any time when they are ill or exhibit any symptoms of any illness. This applies at all times as well as during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- YMCA staff are not permitted to travel outside Canada on YMCA business. If a YMCA staff member travels outside Canada for personal purposes, they are required to self isolate for 14 days.
- YMCA staff are not permitted to attend work gatherings of 250 or more.
- YMCA staff are recommended not to attend personal gatherings or events of 250 people or more.
- Staff are not permitted to attend work for 14 days if they:
- Knowingly have been in direct contact with someone who is a confirmed case of COVID-19;
- Have travelled outside Canada; or
- Anyone in their household has come in contact with someone who has taken a positive COVID-19 test.
We are using following:
- The Canadian Federal Government and its agencies (Public Health Authority of Canada, Global Affairs Canada, Travel Advisories)
- The British Columbia Provincial Government and its agencies (Ministry of Health, BC Centre for Disease Control, Ministry of Children and Family Development)
World Health Organization
Unlike adults, children do not understand social distancing nor are they mature enough to practice it. That is why the YMCA is adding the measure of the Health Declaration Form and taking temperatures so that programs can remain open and social distancing is not a required measure.
If an out-trip is at a venue that is closed due to COVID-19 precautions, then we are cancelling the out-trip. If the venue remains open, the out-trip will proceed until further notice.
The YMCA will manage this on a case-by-case basis. We know that there are cases when regular allergies are the cause of illness and are not related to COVID-19.
In cases of regular illness, children must be symptom-free for 72 hours before returning to the program.
We are determining the best way to manage the form once school returns after spring break. We will notify you of our procedures at that time.
Recent travel applies to trips outside of Canada. Travel within Canada or BC is not a concern until further notice.
No. If you know you will say yes to any of the questions on the Health Declaration Form, please contact the YMCA via phone or email to notify us.
Child Care Update
October 2nd, 2020
Daily Health Check
The following form is our daily health check to determine if you or your child should attend programming that day. If you think your child is ill, please keep them at home.
Child Care Update
June 17th, 2020
Essential Child Care Information
- As per the June 15th announcement from the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) – Emergency Child Care Remain in place until August 31st, 2020.
- Thus, until August 31st, we will continue to prioritize children of essential service workers and not charge fees for children we are temporarily withdrawn.
- As of September 1st, we will return to our pre-pandemic standard YMCA Child Care model.
- Emergency Workers
- We will continue to prioritize care for you, as an Essential Service Worker, until August 31st.
- For Licensed Summer Club programs, we will try to prioritize your space where operationally possible, please contact our YMCA Child Care Administration Team to register.
- Effective September 1st, our facility will revert to its pre-pandemic enrolment and our pre-existing families with non-essential worker parents will have the option to return to their original child care space.
- If you will require child care after August 31st we encourage you to inquire as soon as possible with our YMCA Child Care Administration Team or contact our Child Care Resource and Referral.
- YMCA Child Care Families who are Temporarily Withdrawn
- If you wish to re-enroll your child over the summer, please contact our YMCA Child Care Administration Team. We will continue to serve pre-pandemic YMCA Child Care families where spaces permit.
- To ensure direct communication, families will be contacted directly by YMCA Child Care Administration by July 11th, 2020.
- YMCA Child Care fees will resume on September 1st, 2020.
- If you wish you permanently withdraw from YMCA Child Care, as per YMCA Child Care Policies in Parent Handbook, withdrawals must occur one month prior to the date of withdrawal. Thus, if you wish to permanently withdrawal your child and not return to your YMCA Child Care on September 1st, then you must notify YMCA Child Care Administration in writing by August 1st, 2020.
- As of September 1st, your child can return to their space.
- For Licensed Summer Club programs, if you are already registered, your space is secure. If you are not registered and would like to register, please contact our YMCA Child Care Administration Team or contact our Child Care Resource and Referral.
Child Care Update
October 2nd, 2020
Daily Health Check
The following form is our daily health check to determine if you or your child should attend programming that day. If you think your child is ill, please keep them at home.
Child Care Update
June 17th, 2020
Essential Child Care Information
- As per the June 15th announcement from the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) – Emergency Child Care Remain in place until August 31st, 2020.
- Thus, until August 31st, we will continue to prioritize children of essential service workers and not charge fees for children we are temporarily withdrawn.
- As of September 1st, we will return to our pre-pandemic standard YMCA Child Care model.
- Emergency Workers
- We will continue to prioritize care for you, as an Essential Service Worker, until August 31st.
- For Licensed Summer Club programs, we will try to prioritize your space where operationally possible, please contact our YMCA Child Care Administration Team to register.
- Effective September 1st, our facility will revert to its pre-pandemic enrolment and our pre-existing families with non-essential worker parents will have the option to return to their original child care space.
- If you will require child care after August 31st we encourage you to inquire as soon as possible with our YMCA Child Care Administration Team or contact our Child Care Resource and Referral.
- YMCA Child Care Families who are Temporarily Withdrawn
- If you wish to re-enroll your child over the summer, please contact our YMCA Child Care Administration Team. We will continue to serve pre-pandemic YMCA Child Care families where spaces permit.
- To ensure direct communication, families will be contacted directly by YMCA Child Care Administration by July 11th, 2020.
- YMCA Child Care fees will resume on September 1st, 2020.
- If you wish you permanently withdraw from YMCA Child Care, as per YMCA Child Care Policies in Parent Handbook, withdrawals must occur one month prior to the date of withdrawal. Thus, if you wish to permanently withdrawal your child and not return to your YMCA Child Care on September 1st, then you must notify YMCA Child Care Administration in writing by August 1st, 2020.
- As of September 1st, your child can return to their space.
- For Licensed Summer Club programs, if you are already registered, your space is secure. If you are not registered and would like to register, please contact our YMCA Child Care Administration Team or contact our Child Care Resource and Referral.
Child Care Update
May 21, 2020
Dear Valued YMCA Child Care Families:
This letter is further to our communication in March 2020 where families were given the opportunity to opt out of their child care space(s) and provide space during the pandemic to children of essential service workers.
As I am sure you are aware, things are and have been changing weekly, if not daily over the past few months. During this time, we have worked to keep as many of our valued employees on staff, while operating at reduced revenue and increased costs. However, some centres did close and some staff were laid off while other staff have chosen to take a leave of absence for personal reasons related to COVID-19.
This past Friday, our province announced that it is reopening schools June 1st using a model that will reduce class size and days of attendance. As well, as of this past Monday, some businesses have begun to reopen or plan to reopen and we know that this means employers are looking for their staff to return and as such, we have seen a rapid increase in child care families looking to return to child care.
At this time, child care is still operating under the temporary emergency funding agreement that allowed for parents to withdraw with no notice or fee. We will remain in this stage until the Ministry of Children and Family Development tell us that the agreement is finished, and the pandemic is over. This means that families who have children in our care through the emergency essential service spaces, still have the priority to those spaces. Therefore, there is not room for everyone to return. I sincerely appreciate how difficult it is for our families who are ready to return, and we are not yet able to accommodate you.
Currently, most of our programs that have not been closed have capacity to operate at about 2/3rds. Given that as of last week, we were operating at 20 percent, you can see that we have been working hard to increase our staffing in order to make safe space for your children. We are working to call back required staff who were previously laid off to ensure that we have enough staff to operate given the extra cleaning requirements as well as the increased need for replacement staff when staff exhibit any of the symptoms, no matter how mild, that could be linked to COVID-19.
Most importantly, we are working on ensuring that we are implementing the latest procedures and creating the policies that are required for us to operate in compliance, the latest of which were released late Friday. These policies and procedures help to ensure that children and staff are and will remain safe in our care. As well, we are awaiting the release of the Work BC guidelines to best ensure the safety and wellbeing of our child care staff. These regulations are underway but have not yet been released to providers. Many complex pieces all happening at once.
For families who have requested to return and to whom we are not yet able to provide space, we sincerely apologize. These have been challenging times and we are working hard to open as many spaces as has been safe to do so. We have been instructed by the ministry to encourage our families that we are unable to accommodate to reach out to CCRR as they have a list of other temporary emergency spaces in the community that are available at this time. CCRR can be reached at 250-563-2483 or ccrr@nbc.ymca.ca.
For school aged families requiring care, please reach out to Kaitlin, Kaitlin.Keber@nbc.ymca.ca to see where care may be available for your child(ren). We will not be reopening the centres that were closed at this time, but are providing full day and afterschool care options as space allows.
We sincerely appreciate your understanding and your patience as we work to ensure that we are safe, prepared, and staffed to increase our spaces under the new requirements. All of the information shared with providers is available on the Child Care BC website at https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/family-social-supports/caring-for-young-children.
Should you have further questions please feel free to email me at lynette.mikalishen@nbc.ymca.ca
In Care and Kindness,
Lynette Mikalishen
Director, Child Care Services
Child Care Update
March 26, 2020 – YMCA Rolls Out “Essential Child Care” Starting April 1st
Province of BC Funding Enables Care to Continue
Prince George, BC (other regions coming soon) – [March 26, 2020] – The YMCA of Northern BC will continue its child care services in a new and expanded format starting April 1st. The YMCA Essential Child Care program will include care continuing at multiple YMCA Early Years Child Care locations, while YMCA Before and After School Child Care programs will expand to offer full day care.
“Since the pandemic began, the YMCA has been committed to continuing to provide child care as an essential service to families across Northern BC” says Amanda Alexander, CEO. “With the help of the Province of BC’s temporary emergency child care funding, the YMCA will be able to continue to provide child care services, expand our program hours and meet the childcare needs of families who essential work in essential services.”
Dr. Bonnie Henry, the Provincial Health Officer for British Columbia, is encouraging parents who can care for their children to do so at home. YMCA Child care spots will be reserved for families who choose to keep their children at home or who cannot attend YMCA Child Care due to COVID-19. “Many of the YMCA’s programs are not at capacity right now as many families are following the advice of public health,” says Alexander. “We are opening up child care spots where they are available to any parent or caregiver who needs child care during the pandemic.” Fees for YMCA Essential Child Care will remain the same as typical YMCA Child Care.
In order to support families who are needing to work during this time, the YMCA of Northern BC will continue to operate our full day child care at the YMCA Highland Family Development Centre, YMCA Lac Des Bois Care and Learning Centre, and YMCA Early Learning and Care Centre on Massey Drive from 7:45am until 5:30pm. Preschool and regular Before and After School Care Programs will be closed. The YMCA is working on further plans to support essential services workers at more locations during the pandemic.
Families whose income has changed due to COVID-19 are encouraged to reach out to the Affordable Child Care Benefit Program for reconsideration of their application.
Since March 13th, the YMCA has implemented a number of enhanced health measures so that child care could continue operating. The YMCA will continue these measures:
- In compliance with public health recommendations, if a child or staff has had symptoms recently, such as fever, sore throat, coughing, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, they must self-isolate for 10 days from the onset of the symptoms before returning to child care;
- Health screenings are being carried out and all families are asked to complete a Health Declaration Form at drop-off/sign-in each day;
- If anyone develops symptoms or has a fever during a program, they will be asked to self-isolate for 10 days before returning to the YMCA program;
- Regular handwashing for children and staff is taking place throughout the day; and
- Enhanced cleaning and sanitizing of high touch surfaces are completed at regular intervals.
Use of the sign-in and sign-out table in the main entrance of each centre which restricts public access to the program space.
More information and registration forms for YMCA Essential Child Care can be found at nbc.ymca.ca or by contacting YMCA Child Care Administration at kaitlin.keber@nbc.ymca.ca.
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For media inquiries:
Stephanie Deol
Director of Communications and Philanthropy
Stephanie.deol@nbc.ymca.ca
Child Care Update
March 26, 2020 – Child Care Update
YMCA Rolls Out “Essential Child Care” Starting April 1st
Province of BC Funding Enables Care to Continue
Chetwynd – The YMCA of Northern BC will continue its child care services in a new and expanded format starting April 1st. The YMCA Essential Child Care program will include care continuing at the YMCA Chetwynd Care and Learning Centre, while opening spaces for ages 3 -12 years.
Dr. Bonnie Henry, the Provincial Health Officer for British Columbia, is encouraging parents who can care for their children to do so at home. YMCA Child care spots will be reserved for families who choose to keep their children at home or who cannot attend YMCA Child Care due to COVID-19.
We are opening up child care spots where they are available to any parent or caregiver who needs child care during the pandemic. Fees for YMCA Essential Child Care will remain the same as typical YMCA Child Care.
The YMCA is working on further plans to support essential services workers at more locations during the pandemic.
Families whose income has changed due to COVID-19 are encouraged to reach out to the Affordable Child Care Benefit Program for reconsideration of their application.
Since March 13th, the YMCA has implemented a number of enhanced health measures so that child care could continue operating. Read more about these measures on our website.
More information and registration forms for YMCA Essential Child Care can be found at nbc.ymca.ca or by contacting YMCA Child Care Administration at karri.stang@nbc.ymca.ca.
Child Care Update
March 25, 2020 – Child Care Public Health Guidance & Child Care Settings Questions and Answers
Child Care Update
March 24, 2020
Dear Valued YMCA Child Care Families:
Thank you for your patience as we work through this unpreceded time. I am pleased to inform you that in line with Dr Henry’s recommendations, in order to support parents and caregivers who are able to provide care for their children at home during the COVID-19 pandemic; the YMCA of Northern BC will be applying to the emergency child care funding program. As a result of this emergency funding program, if you do not require child care, you will not be charged your monthly fees effective April 1st 2020 until the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
Dr. Henry has recognized that while some facilities may close, child care services can and must be provided in a safe manner for those families who work in critical roles. Thus, as staffing allows, we will continue to operate for families who need to attend work that is essential to the operations of our community.
By supporting families who are able to stay home, we will then be able to open temporary emergency spaces to those who are providing essential services.
Families who do not require care due to COVID-19 related issues or concerns and want to temporarily withdraw from our services must complete the attached form and return it to either Kaitlin.Keber@nbc.ymca.ca (YMCA Child Care Administration) or your Child Care Coordinator on or before 4:30pm Friday March 27, 2020.
Please note, that if you are withdrawing from services, you will be guaranteed a space back in the program once the pandemic has ended and the emergency agreement ends (unless at that time, your child has aged out). If you wish to remove your child from care due to COVID-19, and you decide at a later date that you want to re-enroll your child into care, we can only provide you a space during the pandemic if space is available.
For families not withdrawing your child, you also need you to complete the attached form. This will help us ensure that we are adequately prepared and that we do not miss any families in our communication.
Should you have further questions you may contact myself directly at Lynette.Mikalishen@nbc.ymca.ca. We sincerely appreciate all of the support that we have received, and we look forward to continuing to help children grow, thrive and lead for many years to come. Stay well!
Sincerely,
Lynette Mikalishen
Director of Child Care Services
Child Care Update
March 24, 2020
The Ministry of Children and Family Development has just released some more details regarding increased supports for the COVID-19 response regarding childcare. We are currently working through these details and commit to making these public by end of day tomorrow. We are pleased to confirm that all parents who are not requiring child care will not be charged fees on April 1st. For any of these parents who withdraw from care due to COVID-19, your childcare space will be reserved for you once the pandemic passes.
Child Care Update
March 20, 2020
This afternoon, Katrine Conroy, Minister of Children and Family Development, and Katrina Chen, Minister of State for Child Care, issued a news release providing more information on how the ministry will continue to support child care providers and parents during this challenging time.
Please visit the following link to find out more: https://news.gov.bc.ca/21845
We will continue to work with the Ministry next week to understand all of the details so that we can ensure as much support as possible to the families in our child care.
We hope this brings some relief to families. Please continue to monitor for updates as we will continue to communicate with our YMCA community as soon as new information becomes available our social media channels and our website at: nbc.ymca.ca/covid19/
Child Care Update
March 20, 2020
In light of child care being deemed essential services the following changes will apply:
All YMCA Preschool programs are suspended until further notice. No further payments will be taken until YMCA resumes preschool services.
YMCA Before and After School Care programs are suspended until further notice. No further payments will be taken until YMCA resumes before and after school care services.
Infant and Toddler, Group 3-5, Multi-age, and School Age Spring Break Care programs will remain open as staffing permits.
We are waiting on Provincial direction and policy in the coming days to be able to make further decisions once we receive that communication.
As information is available to us, we will communicate updates and reopening using our website and social media channels.
Thank you for you understanding at this unprecedented time.
Re: Chetwynd School Age Program Opening
March 15, 2020
Dear Families:
Given the current pandemic and the uncertainty that it is bringing across our nation, at this time I have decided to postpone the opening of the YMCA Little Prairie School Age Program (license pending) from March 30th to May 4th, 2020.
I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may bring to those who have already registered. Our administration team will be in contact with you in the coming days to answer any questions you may have.
Please check our website at www.nbc.ymca.ca or our Chetwynd Facebook page, www.facebook.com/nbcychetwynd for further updates. Should you have any further questions, please feel free to contact myself at lynette.mikalishen@nbc.ymca.ca.
Thank you for your understanding.
Sincerely,
Lynette Mikalishen
Director, Child Care Services
Re: Implementation of Screening Procedures, YMCA of Northern BC Licensed Child Care
March 14, 2020
Dear Child Care Families,
Further to my communication on March 12, 2020, this notice is to update you on additional procedures we are implementing in our licensed child care programs given the recommendations of the Provincial Health officer and Minister of Health on Thursday evening. Our goal is to ensure our YMCA Child Care Programs remain as safe as possible during this pandemic.
We will be implementing screening procedures at our child care locations beginning Monday March 16, 2020.
Upon arrival, all families will be asked to complete a Health Declaration Form before drop off/sign in each day until further notice. If parents or caregivers say yes to any of the questions, the child cannot participate in the program for 14 days. The Declaration Form asks:
- Whether or not the child or anyone in your household has symptoms;
- If there has been recent travel outside of Canada by your child or anyone in your household within the last 14 days; and
- If the child or anyone in the household has come in contact with someone who has taken a positive COVID-19 test.
We recognize the additional impact that families who travelled prior to the advisory are facing as they return. Therefore, if a child cannot participate in YMCA child care due to Covid-19 or their Health Declaration Form responses, we will credit the account for the number of care days in the 14 day isolation period. Families who chose to travel after the date of the advisory will not receive a credit for their isolation period.
Should a childcare family choose not to participate in child care, our regular policies still apply and they will not receive any credits or refunds.
Our COVID-19 Response Team continues to closely monitor all public health agencies to stay on top of this rapidly changing landscape. We remain committed to following all recommendations in our programs and continuing to implement the extra handwashing and cleaning procedures.
Our staff will monitor all children for signs or symptoms and will be asking that any child exhibiting a cough, a high temperature or shortness of breath be immediately picked up and kept home for 14 days.
We sincerely appreciate the support of our families and our staff in ensuring they are following all recommendations to limit the impact of this event. By keeping your children who are unwell at home, you are helping to ensure our staff stay well and that our programs can remain open to provide the essential service needed to families who are working in the front lines of this challenge and lessen the financial impacts to all.
I will continue to update you as needed. Should you have any questions or concerns please speak with the Child Care Coordinator for your location or you may contact myself at Lynette.Mikalishen@nbc.ymca.ca .
In Care,
Lynette Mikalishen
