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Welcome to the forgotten ECE, the show where before and after school educators, summer

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camp and PD staff and CYWs have a place where they are seen, heard and valued.

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I'm your host, Jamie Wagler, and I'm so excited you're here.

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Hello and welcome back to the forgotten ECE, the podcast where we, I shine a light on often

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overlooked corners of early childhood education.

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I'm your host, Jamie Wagler, and today we are diving into the pressing issue in Ontario's

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childcare landscape, the closure of before and after school programs.

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I cannot tell you enough how it hurts me to even be doing a podcast about this because

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before and after school programs are the cornerstone of my belief system.

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Honestly, like I, if you're new here, you know that I love before and after school wholeheartedly.

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And this is just sad.

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This is just sad.

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And well, I don't want to point any fingers.

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But Canada wide early learning and childcare systems, also known as CWEL, Canada, I guess,

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has been a game changer for many families with young children.

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School age programs have been left behind from this.

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This has created an alarming trend of program closures, leaving families scrambling for

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care and operators facing impossible challenges.

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It is so disheartening.

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First of all, the jump in money and costs, the jump in fees from preschool to before

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and after school programs.

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So these programs are costing upwards of a thousand dollars a month for five hours a

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day.

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And I'm not saying it's not worth it.

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It is worth it.

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These kids need these programs.

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And I am the first person belting it out to the world that these programs are needed.

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But a thousand dollars a month for five hours a day.

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What?

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In this episode, we're going to explore why this is happening and the impact on families

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and communities.

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And most importantly, what we can do to change it.

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I hope you're ready.

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So I'm already fired up.

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I don't know if you can tell.

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I'm going to set the stage.

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So the CWEL system was designed to make childcare more affordable for families focusing only

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on children age zero to six.

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This includes fees reductions and subsidies, which are incredibly beneficial for the younger

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age groups.

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Obviously, this is not, I'm not arguing that.

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I'm, it is needed.

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Personally, I would have needed this.

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I did need this.

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It wasn't there when I needed it, but I needed it.

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The problem is school age programs.

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Those serving children six and older, they're not receiving the same attention of funding.

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These programs are crucial for working families providing care during before and after school

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hours.

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Despite the importance of these programs, they've been excluded completely from the

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CWEL benefits.

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There's no funding for operators.

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This exclusion has created a perfect storm without proportional funding.

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They're struggling to cover the rising costs while keeping their fees affordable for parents.

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And when revenue doesn't meet operational costs, closures are often the only option

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and it's happening.

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It's happening in front of our faces right now.

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I actually recently spoke to an operator in Ontario who told me we've always run on a

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thin margin, but now with the rising costs and no additional funding for school aged

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care, it's become unsustainable.

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We had to make the heartbreaking decision to close.

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And this isn't an isolated story.

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It's happening across the province.

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I just am so broken from this.

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I figure our next step is to break it down.

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The key reasons behind these closures.

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What are these reasons?

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First, the not so hidden staffing crisis.

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The CWEL funding model doesn't adequately address the need for competitive wages, especially

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RACEs and operators are forced to choose between hiring less qualified staff or running understaffed

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programs.

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That shouldn't even be an option.

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I've heard programs asking if they can afford to hire any more RACEs.

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Like what?

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That shouldn't be a question that we're asking ourselves.

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That shouldn't be a question that the admin staff are asking.

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Where is this pressure coming from?

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It's coming from these awful fee margins.

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Second, let's look at the funding gap.

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Mandated fee caps are designed to make childcare affordable for families, but they don't come

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with enough financial support to balance the books.

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For school age programs, which already operated on these thin margins, this is devastating.

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It's absolutely devastating.

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What are these families supposed to do?

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I don't know very many work days that run from nine to three or nine to two 30 giving

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people a chance to go pick their kids up.

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And that's not even including travel time.

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And then finally, there's that administrative burden.

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Operators are expected to navigate complex reporting and compliance requirements all

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while managing staffing shortages and stretched resources.

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There is no additional funding for training, professional development, or planning time.

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And all of this is essential to quality care.

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These challenges are pushing programs to the brink and the numbers don't lie.

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Closures are becoming more frequent.

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It's outrageous is what it is.

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It's absolutely outrageous.

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These before and after school programs that used to use these staff to help with planning

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time to cover other educators during those crucial aspects that not everyone gets, they

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just can't afford to run them.

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They can't afford these staff to be there all day.

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It's disgusting.

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I'm sorry for pausing, but it's just, it's so disheartening.

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And then what does that mean for families in our communities?

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For parents, the closures of school age programs mean fewer options for affordable and reliable

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care.

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This is especially challenging for families who have two working parents or even single

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parent households.

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The stress and financial burdens are enormous.

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And for communities, the loss of these programs creates a ripple effect.

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Children may set on structured play-based learning opportunities and families are losing

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a vital support system.

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Local economies feel the impact as parents are forced to reduce work hours or leave the

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workforce altogether.

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How are we supposed to afford it?

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And you know, as well as I do listening to this podcast, listening to the being a person

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in our system or in our society today, groceries and living expenses are not cheap.

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We cannot afford to live, the working class, I should say, cannot afford to live on one

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income families, one income support systems.

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Even as a single person without children, you can't live on one income.

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This issue isn't just about childcare.

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It's about the wellbeing of our entire community.

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Now that you've listened to my rant about the problem, what can we do to fix it?

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First, we need inclusive funding policies.

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Each programs must, and I repeat must be included in the CWELC benefits to ensure they receive

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the support they need to stay open and accessible.

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The government needs to understand that these programs are vital to our societies.

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Second, we need to address the staffing crisis by increasing wages and providing funding

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for professional development.

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Quality care depends on the skilled educators and we can't afford to lose them.

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There will be no new spaces for families, for children.

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There will be no quality care if we don't have skilled educators in these programs.

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Third, we need to simplify the administrative process.

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Operators should be able to focus on providing care, not drowning in paperwork.

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There's got to be a better way to do it.

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Finally, last but certainly not least, we need to raise our voices.

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I am talking to you.

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I'm talking to my listeners.

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I'm talking to people who just happen to be walking by.

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I'm talking to anyone who is here, who is loud, who is proud, who is quiet.

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It doesn't matter.

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You need to raise your voice.

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Policymakers need to hear from families.

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They need to hear from educators and they need to hear from operators about the importance

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of these school age programs.

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It all starts with advocacy.

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Change starts with advocacy.

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This issue may feel overwhelming, but together we can make a difference.

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If you have been impacted by the closure of school age programs, I encourage you to share

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your story.

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Reach out to your local representation or local representatives and demand action.

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I want to hear.

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Take me in it.

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Hashtag the Forgotten ECE, hashtag Miss Jamie Consulting.

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I want to hear from you if you've been impacted by these closures, whether you're an REC,

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whether you're an educator, whether you're a parent, whether you're a parent, whether

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you're a parent of a child.

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Whether you're an educator, whether you're a parent, whether you're a community member,

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whether you're an administrative.

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Every voice counts is what I want you to take away from today.

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Every single voice.

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And we need to stand together to do this.

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I know that was really hard and really loud and really boisterous, but I need you to understand

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that we can make a difference.

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So thank you so much for joining me today and let's continue to advocate for the recognition

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and support that these school age programs deserve.

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And until next time, keep pushing for change.

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Thank you.

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Amazing listeners for your support.

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Don't forget to follow me on Instagram at Miss Jamie underscore REC.

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Give a star rating and leave a review.

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Have something you want to hear about in relation to before and after school programs or full

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day summer camp.

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DM me or comment.

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Again, thank you so much and happy learning.