Care For Newcomer Children (CNC): Questions and Answers

1. Why do we need a new model of care?

CIC saw a need for a change in the child care supports to assist SPOs in offering care to parents. During the consultation for a new child care model SPOs expressed their ideas from which the CNC program grew. The CNC model provides more flexibility and choice. Rather than providing child care support for individual CIC-funded services, you are able to support all CIC-funded adult services within a single child care program. This is an opportunity to review and revise outdated practices and become more efficient in providing and managing the care of children.

In general, the CNC program model allows you to care for more children and better meet the needs of the newcomer families you serve.

2. What requirements will we need to follow?

A new set of requirements have been developed that will replace the National LINC Childminding Requirements and the Occasional Child Care Requirements. The information in the Highlights and Bulletin reflect the information found in the requirements. The full requirements will be available at the end of the year.

3. Is Long Term care really just childminding?

Long Term care is one of the three types of care in the CNC model. Long Term care is very similar to childminding. Keep in mind that there have been changes to the requirements that will be important as you begin to implement CNC.

4. Is Short Term care the same as OCC?

Short Term care is one of the three types of care in the CNC model. Short Term care is very similar to OCC currently offered in Ontario, but it is now possible for other provinces to provide this type of care. This will allow organizations to provide care to children whose parents are participating in short-term settlement services such as counselling and workshops. There have been changes to terminology and requirements from the Occasional Child Care Requirements. For example, the age of children eligible for care has expanded.

5. When and where can I offer Short Term care?

Short Term care can be offered at any time of the day or evening, in temporary space that is not dedicated to child care. If an organization has very large numbers of clients who would use the Short

Term program, they may choose to have a space dedicated to CNC. The advantage of Short Term care is that staffing is needed only when sessions operate.

6. What is the benefit of having Combined Care rather than having childminding and OCC like I have now?

If you provide Combined Care, you may be able to make better use of staffing and space. Combined care allows you to have one program with long and short-term children participating. Spaces can be allotted to Short Term care, and used on a day-by-day basis. This may assist you with uptake in your adult programs. Programs that currently offer both childminding and occasional child care and find there is always space available would likely find Combined Care a good option.

7. How do I know what will be the best type of care for us?

You need to look at the CIC-funded adult services that your organization offers, and consider the needs of your clients. If all your clients are attending language classes then Long Term care will best meet your needs. If you provide only short term settlement services, i.e. counselling, workshops, you will likely choose to offer Short Term care. For those organizations that offer a combination of CIC-funded adult services at one location, you have the option of Combined Care or both Long and Short Term. To decide which is best, you should consider all of the CIC-funded adult services, when services are offered, and the number of people who will use CNC.

8. What if I want to run my child care program for language classes during the day and counseling and workshops at night, would that be Combined Care?

Combined Care is when Short Term and Long Term care is provided in the same space, at the same time, so this would not be considered Combined Care.

9. If I choose Combined Care, and then the short-term spaces aren’t filled, can I put long-term children from my waiting list in those spaces?

Combined Care is flexible in that you can put short-term children in any available Long Term space, but you cannot enroll long-term children in your Short Term spaces. Spaces allocated to Short Term care must always be available to be used by clients in Short Term programs.

10. What if I operate a language class in the day and another one in the evening, are these long and short- term programs?

Long Term refers to the length of time a child participates in the program – if you offer care to children on a daily basis, over a long period of time, whether in the day or evening, it is considered Long Term care

Similarly if you offer care on a daily basis, but the children attend occasionally, then you are offering Short Term care.

11. What if I want to have Long Term care, but also want to provide Short Term care for four (4) evening workshops this year?

You can do this under the new model by operating both a Long Term and Short Term program, in the same space at different times.

12. In the Highlights, you mentioned the need to develop a plan to manage space availability. What does that mean?

Organizations should have a plan to make sure they are maximizing all of their CNC spaces. For example in a Combined Care program more time is required to manage space availability. You need to identify how many spaces will be allotted to each CIC-funded adult service. Determine when care is needed, and which one of your CIC-funded adult services will have priority access to CNC. Other things to consider will be: who will confirm space availability and who will actually be responsible for the enrollment of children into the program.

13. What is a “staff with designated responsibility”?

A “staff with designated responsibility” (SDR) is the CNC staff member who has overall responsibility for a CNC program while children are present. This could be the person formerly known as the lead childminder or if you have an off ratio supervisor they would fulfill this roll when they are on site.

14. What does “not included in ratio”mean?

“Not included in ratio” means not working directly in program with the children. The more children that are enrolled in a program, the greater the need for administration, registration, overseeing program quality and risk management. For large programs, there must be a staff with designated responsibility (SDR) who is “not included in ratio” to fulfill this role.

15. What if I choose one type of care and find that I need to add or change the type of care I am offering? For example, if I choose Long Term care and then decide that I want to use some spaces for Short Term care?

This is part of your contribution agreement. You need to speak to your CIC officer about any changes to your program. CMAS could provide you with advice on the implications of making such changes.

16.Does my space need to be approved before providing care?

You will need to ensure that your space meets all of the CNC requirements before children are accepted into the program.

17. When do I need physical activity space?

Physical activity space is required when a child in a Long Term or Combined Care program attends for more than 3 hours. Physical activity space is not required for Short Term care.

18. If I choose Combined Care, do I need extra space?

No the space required for Long Term and Combined Care is the same. The only time the required space is different is when you are offering Short Term care.

19. I am considering Combined Care. Will this be more work for my staff?

Introducing a new system to staff can be challenging especially if they have been using the same system for a long period of time. Staff will need to adjust to managing enrolment on a daily basis andsupportingthechildrenastheysettleintheprogram. CMASwillbeprovidinginformationand strategies to you and your staff to help you as the time draws closer.

20. What if I only want to keep a few spaces for short-term children in my Combined Care program?

You can do this. It is best when choosing combined care to allocated the number of spaces that you realistically believe will be used on a frequent basis. If you allocate a small number you may be able to reduce your staffing costs. The requirements say that when no more than 20% of the children in a Combined Care program attend short-term, the need for an additional staff is no longer required. This means that 2 staff with a group of 10 children could care for 8 long term children and 2 short term children at one time.

21. What if I currently have a program with more than 72 children?

You can continue to care for more than 72 children, but you must set up two separate CNC programs. For example, you will need the appropriate administration and staffing for each program.

22. I currently offer child care in the evenings with one staff with five (5) children. Do I need more staff?

There must always be two staff on site. However, when the ratio can be met by one staff alone, the second person can be a CNC volunteer who has completed all of the necessary orientation and documentation.

23. What is a “Staff Level 2”?

A CNC Staff Level II has at least a two-year diploma in a child development program related to the ages of the children cared for or in a related field. In a province/territory where a two-year diploma is not available they must have at least the qualifications set out in provincial legislation for the person with responsibility for the day-to-day operation of a licensed child care centre.

24. What is a “Staff Level 1”?

A CNC Staff Level I has a one-year diploma, or course credits from a recognized academic institution equivalent to one year of a two-year diploma program in child development related to the ages of the children. In a province/territory where a two-year diploma is not available, (50%) of the qualifications set out in provincial legislation for the person with responsibility for the day-to-day operation of a licensed child care centre

25. Why does an administrator have to do an orientation?

Child care is generally not the area of expertise of an administrator, so understanding your responsibilities and legal obligations are important to your role. The care of children can have significant risks if not well managed. An orientation will help you to understand how to manage these risks and be prepared for the administration of your CNC program.

26. All of my staff have been here for years and got their criminal reference check when they first started. Will they need to get it done again?

All staff must have a criminal reference check every three years. If the criminal reference checks are older than 3 years your staff will need to have it updated.

27. Can I call my CMAS consultant and get some assistance for CNC?

Once the proposals for the 2012 CIC Call for proposals have been approved, CMAS will be available to assist with the transition into CNC.

Please note: CMAS cannot assist SPOs with the Call For Proposal. After proposals have been submitted, we will be posting resources to help you further. a variety of supports have been developed to help you understand and implement CNC. Information, tools and resources will be available in good time to support the successful transition into CNC.

 

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