Parents of children attending a recently shutdown unlicensed daycare arre saying the regulatory system leaves no room for their needs.
"I can't go to a licensed daycare because I can't guarantee the five days that I'll need it," said Marcie Kormandy.
"If I feel that the person is capable of looking after my children and I trust them, they're no different than a licensed person. It's my choice if I don't want to raise my children five days a week in a daycare."
Daycare owner Karen Klassen was in the process of getting a license for the business she's run out of her home for 12 years. After going through several steps to achieve her license, local Garibaldi Health licensing officer Heather Nash, who had warned Klassen numerous times, decided to shut her down.
"[Nash] told me what I had to do," said Klassen. "I got a criminal record check, updated child safety plus one step further. I got a doctor's note, references, everything she required of me, and then she said you need a family daycare planning licensing kit from her. So the minute she told me that, I went down and got that. Two or three days later she served me with papers saying if I continue to run my daycare, she was closing me down."
Tracy Hicks is another mother who has had problems finding childcare to suit her needs since Klassen's closure.
"It's really sad because my daughter was really happy going there," she said. "I work very few hours so it's hard for me to find a daycare that I'm comfortable with that will take my daughter just for the amount of hours that I need."
Nash said she couldn't comment on specific cases, but her job is about keeping kids safe.
"Whenever I find out about a daycare, whether it be an ad in the paper or a notice posted at the mailboxes, anything like that or a complaint, I'll follow up on it for safety reasons, it's all about the children and care," said Nash. "We want to make sure the adults in that residence have cleared a criminal record check, they have taken safety measures in the home and that they're not sitting in front of the TV all day, that there are some stimulating activities for them."
Klassen said she knows of unlicensed childcare providers who have reacted to warnings by refusing to allow children outside for fear of being caught.
"What is that?" she asked. "You're looking after kids where you're too afraid to go outside to give the kids some fresh air because this lady's going to pounce on you any second. I just think the whole system is unfair."
Sea to Sky Community Services provides a list of all childcare providers registered or licensed in the area, but Kormandy said none of the businesses on the list could fulfill her needs. Community Services also provides consultation for those wishing to apply for a license as well as facilitation for those wanting to register as license-not-required daycares.
Childcare referral consultant, Jeannie Cameron, said the organization tries to remove all barriers to childcare. She said she's aware that there are unlicensed daycares in Squamish and feels there's no reason for it.
"The process for becoming registered and licensed I don't think it's particularly daunting and there are supports in place to go through that process," she said. "I've never heard of any viable reasons why people have not done it."[email protected]
