Emergency Child Care for Eligible Essential Workers - January 6, 2022

This article was released by the City of Stratford and is being shared on its behalf.

Stratford – On January 3, 2022, the Province of Ontario announced the provision of emergency child care for eligible essential workers for their school-aged children. In Stratford, Perth County and St. Marys, these spaces will be allocated in chronological order from application date and will only be available to those who are listed by the Province of Ontario as workers eligible for emergency child care. Eligible families will also be required to have exhausted all other possibilities for child care. The targeted emergency child care program will be provided at no cost to eligible parents.

The list of eligible workers can be found at https://www.ontario.ca/page/covid-19-health-and-safety-measures-child-care Emergency child care for eligible school aged children will be provided in Stratford by the City of Stratford at the Anne Hathaway Day Care Centre and by the YMCA of Three Rivers at Stratford District Secondary School; in Mitchell and Milverton by Perth Care for Kids at Upper Thames Elementary School and Milverton Public School; in St. Marys by the Town of St. Marys at Holy Name of Mary School; in Monkton and Listowel by the Municipality of North Perth at the Elma Logan Recreation Complex and the Westfield Elementary School.

Applications for emergency child care can be made through the City of Stratford. Registration will begin at 9 a.m. on January 6, with screening for eligibility by calling City of Stratford at 519-271-3773 extension 257. Eligible families will then be contacted by their respective child care program to complete the registration process.

Social Services staff have consulted with Huron Perth Public Health and Ontario’s Ministry of Education to ensure appropriate policies and procedures are in place to ensure the safety of all staff, parents, and children.

Questions and concerns can be directed to Darren Barkhouse, Manager of Children’s Services at the City of Stratford at dbarkhouse@stratford.ca or by calling 519-271-3773 extension 243.