Emergency child care program spaces still available locally

WELLINGTON COUNTY – With the provincial government expanding its list of workers eligible for the Emergency School Age Child Care Program, the County of Wellington is reporting there are spaces available in the county and Guelph.

On Jan. 25, the province announced it would expand the list of eligible workers to include:

  • individuals working in fuel distribution and oil refineries;
  • education staff who are required to report to work in person while their children continue with remote learning;
  • grocery store workers;
  • pharmacy workers;
  • truck drivers;
  • farmers and those who support food or agricultural product supply chains;
  • individuals involved in the collecting, transporting, storing, processing, disposing or recycling of any type of waste; and
  • individuals working in the manufacturing and distribution of disinfectants and sanitizers.

In response an extension of remote learning in Wellington County and the City of Guelph until at least Feb. 11, the County of Wellington announced the approval of 30 additional emergency school age child care spaces on Jan. 25.

The YMCA of Three Rivers will provide 15 spaces at St. Michael Catholic School in Guelph and 15 additional spaces will be provided by the Community Resource Centre at JD Hogarth Public School in Fergus.

“Spaces for Emergency School Age Child Care are still available in the City of Guelph and the County of Wellington,” said Luisa Artuso, Director of the Children’s Early Years Division.

“These spaces will continue to operate until elementary schools re-open in Guelph and Wellington County.”

For more information on how to register for Emergency School-Age Child Care visit wellington.ca/emergencyschoolagechildcare.

To date, 120 emergency school age child care spaces have been created to support frontline and essential workers in Guelph and Wellington.