Yukon Government Boosts Child Care for Essential Services

Saturday, 18 April 2020 09:36

The Government of Yukon has provided additional funding and operational guidance for child care centres in response to the COVID 19 pandemic.

To reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, Yukon's Chief Medical Officer of Health has directed that the Government of Yukon reduce the number of children in licensed child care spaces while ensuring that those child care services are available to critical or essential workers who are currently performing vital services.

As a result, Yukoners whose occupations are not considered critical or essential are not permitted to use licensed child care spaces at this time. Licensed child care will continue to be available for children with parents or guardians that are employed as critical or essential service workers, and for vulnerable families.

Yukon's licensed child care centres and family day homes are receiving additional funding to provide care to children during the COVID-19 response and beyond it. Information about this funding can be found at Yukon.ca/child-care-centres-and-family-day-homes.

Minister of Health and Social Services Pauline Frost said in a statement, child care is an essential service that enables workers to continue to do their jobs as we manage the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At this time, we need to ensure that child care services are available to critical or essential workers who are performing the vital services that are needed by all Yukoners in a way that protects the health and safety of both staff and children.

In Yukon, critical services are defined as those considered critical to preserving life, health and basic societal functioning. Essential services are those required to maintain the reliable operation of infrastructure essential for the health, safety and economic well-being of Yukon's population.

Several child care operators have space available for the children of critical and essential workers. A current list of operators with available spaces is available at Yukon.ca/child-care-information.

Details about Government of Yukon financial support for child care operators is also available at Yukon.ca/child-care-centres-and-family-day-homes.

Yukon Communicable Disease Control and Yukon's Chief Medical Officer of Health have provided child care operators with a public health guidance document called Enhanced measures at Yukon child care facilities during the COVID-19 crisis. It details measures to assist our centres and day homes in remaining open, to help maintain a safe and healthy environment and to minimize the risk of COVID-19 in Yukon.