Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre: As It Stands...

What happened?

On March 16, 2007, Westcoast received notice that MCFD was canceling our long-standing contract for provincial early childhood and child care support services.

The contract officially ended April 30, 2007. The end of this contract represented an $800,000 cut in funding.At the same time, the Westcoast contract for the Vancouver Child Care Resource and Referral program was also reduced by $450,000. This resulted in a total reduction of $1.35 million dollars. Obviously this significant funding loss has had a severe impact on services.

Westcoast is not closing!

Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre is an independent charitable non-profit society that holds a number of contracts for services including Vancouver CCRR, Vancouver City Services, Mobile Lending in Vancouver and Safe Spaces Training, fee-for-service activities including workshops, courses and the Job Board as well as a variety of other projects and donations. Our work continues.

   Past updates:

• The crisis in child care
• MCFD cuts CCRRs
• Advocacy works!
• MCFD cuts Westcoast provincial services
• Your voice counts!
• Letters of support

WESTCOAST HOURS:

Provincial Access to Westcoast is changing

• Westcoast is no longer funded by MCFD to respond to inquiries outside the City of Vancouver. Inquiries from outside of Vancouver will be referred to the caller’s local CCRR or to MCFD for support.
• Services that are funded by fees or other funders will continue to be offered on a provincial basis. For the time-being, this includes: the Job Board, print resources for sale including the INFORM Guide, and Safe Spaces training.
• Our toll free line will remain active to provide provincial access to these services.

Access to the Westcoast Library is changing

• Anyone can visit the Westcoast Library and use the resources on-site. As of May 1, 2007 new subscribers must live or work in Vancouver.
• Borrowing must be done in person. There will be no mailing of any Library materials for subscribers after May 1, 2007. Borrowers may return items by mail at their own expense.
• Students actively enrolled in an ECE or related program in the GVRD continue to be eligible for a Westcoast subscription at the $20 per year rate. All students must come into the Library to borrow.

What about Subscriptions?

• All subscriptions activated prior to April 30, 2007 will be honoured until the subscription expires.
• As of May 1, 2007, only those who live or work in Vancouver are eligible to become Westcoast Subscribers.
• Subscribers continue to have access to borrowing from the Westcoast Library, from the VCCRR Lending Library and from Westcoast Mobile Lending in Vancouver. Subscriber discounts on workshop fees and the Job Board continue.
• Planning for the Westcoast Post magazine is underway.

The Job Board

• The Job Postings Board continues as before. Jobs can be submitted online and posted for 2 weeks for $50. See the Westcoast website for more information at www.westcoast.ca

Westcoast Mobile Lending

• Mobile Lending continues to visit sites in the City of Vancouver. Resources are being collected now for inventory and to prepare for Westcoast’s relocation. The schedule of regular visits will resume in September.

Westcoast Print Resources

• The updated Westcoast INFORM Guide is available for purchase and now comes with a CD of template policies to get you started.
• Existing print resources are available for sale through the Marketplace at www.westcoast.ca . We will look at ways of keeping the resources up to date, or combining them with other resources to make them more accessible.
• The Westcoast POST will be on hold for now, but we hope to publish in the future as an online magazine as a subscriber benefit.

Vancouver Child Care Resource and Referral (VCCRR)

• Services for families and family child care providers in Vancouver continue. We are in the process of hiring and training new Outreach staff.
• Workshops and courses continue according to schedule until July 5. The fall workshop schedule will come out in the VCCRR newsletter in August.
• Assistance with subsidy applications continues. Families may make an appointment by calling a CCRR Outreach Coordinator at 604-709-5661.
• Referrals for parents looking for child care continue through Westcoast Family Information & Referral. Call 604-709-5699.
• Toy and equipment lending for care providers resumes on May 26 through to June 16 on Wednesday evenings (6:00- 8:00 p.m.) and Saturdays (10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.) Please call a CCRR Outreach Coordinator at 604-709-5661 to arrange to return or pick up items. Lending will be on hold after June 16 until sometime in August after Westcoast is settled into our new location.
• Home visits for those who have completed all registry requirements except the Home Health and Safety Assessment may be scheduled by calling a CCRR Outreach Coordinator at 604-709-5661.

Safe Spaces Training

• Westcoast continues to offer Safe Spaces training for child care and other early childhood programs. Immigrant-serving organizations in the Lower Mainland may access Safe Spaces training at no cost through funding provided by the United Way of the Lower Mainland.
• Safe Spaces training for mainstream organizations and those outside the Lower Mainland remains available until late fall 2007 at a reduced cost through funding provided by National Crime Prevention to Success By 6.
• Safe Spaces training is always available on a fee-for-service basis.
• Child Care Resource & Referral programs may order Safe Spaces kits for Safe Spaces training they are providing for their local family and group care providers.

A BIG Thank You

We would like to thank all of those who contacted us to show support and/or wrote letters about Westcoast’s Provincial Services. These letters articulated very clearly how important these services were to communities and helped staff know that their work is valued. These are ways to help us continue to support quality child care services that are affordable and accessible to all those who need it and want it. Thank you all.