'I'd have $5 at the end of the week': Some home daycares face closure as costs rise

Some people who run home daycares on P.E.I. say rising operating costs are making it hard to keep their services affordable while still making a living.

CBC News has heard from a few that say they've been forced to shut down in recent months — forcing more parents onto the lengthy waitlist for child care.

"I went from having a profit when I first started, to just barely making ends meet — just breaking even," said Shaniya Butler Ferguson, who closed her unlicensed home daycare in Cornwall last month.

Jeannie Dixon says her daycare business has become a balancing act of keeping fees affordable and still making a decent living. (Steve Bruce/CBC)

She cared for up to six children and charged parents $35 a day, including lunch. But she said that barely covered her costs.

"I'd have $5 at the end of the week. For a couple of months, I had to borrow money from my mom."

She told parents fees would have to go up but said many couldn't afford it.

Others, like Jeannie Dixon, are managing to stay afloat, but only by charging parents more.

"I try to be as fair as I possibly can be, and also [be] fair to myself," said Dixon, who has run an unlicensed home daycare in Charlottetown since 2020.

She takes care of four kids and used to charge $35 a day.

"But then with the grocery costs going up, and everything else going up, we put our cost up to $40," she said, noting beyond groceries she is also paying more for puzzles and arts and crafts supplies.

"It's a struggle bytimes for sure. But we make it work," she said, and parents understand her position.

"It's just me out of my home, paying for everything. And they're OK with it."

Money available, with strings attached

Home daycare operators who meet certain requirements can apply to be provincially licensed.

With that licence, operators are eligible for an annual $30,000 operating grant if they agree to lower their fees to $10 a day — the same rate now charged at provincially-regulated early years centres. But it's not as simple as signing a dotted line. Butler Ferguson said she started the process but eventually found it too much.

Shaniya Butler Ferguson used to run an unlicensed home daycare in Cornwall. But as costs rose, it stopped being profitable, and the parents couldn't afford a fee increase to make up for it. (Steve Bruce/CBC)

"I would have had to have the fire department come in, a couple different inspectors come into my home. I would have had to build a fence out back. I would have had to renovate the bathrooms."

She estimates it would have taken her a week or two to get everything in order. But that would have meant closing the centre for a little while, which she couldn't afford to do. She would like to see unlicensed centres get some government support too.

Jamie-Lee Brown, left, says she'll have to quit her job if she and her husband can't find childcare for their daughter. (Brittany Aylward Photography)

"Even if they could just supply an allotted amount per year for arts and crafts and extracurriculars and learning supplies," she said.

Some licensed centres operators who spoke to CBC News said the government funding isn't enough to make up for rising costs and give them a decent living.

Late last year, Jamie-Lee Brown got word the licensed home daycare she uses would be closing Dec. 22, which eventually extended to February. Now, she and her husband are trying to find other options for their child.

"We're kind of stuck," Brown said.

The day she found out she was pregnant, she registered for the P.E.I.'s child care registry — which is intended to get parents on the waiting lists of licensed centres on the Island.

"And I still have never received a call," said Brown.

Now, she and her husband are looking for childcare in the often pricer unlicensed market.

"The options aren't great," said Brown. "They range from $35-$50 a day, and that's expensive. It's hard to do as a young family."

And if they can't find childcare,

"I'm going to quit my job," she said. "I love my job, so that's really hard. I mean, we have really supportive family, but I can't ask them to watch our toddler full time."

Provincial consultations coming

The province is aware of the concerns, said Doreen Gillis, the province's director of early childhood development.

Some of the province's 16 licensed home daycares have told her team that even with the grant money they're struggling with rising costs, she said.

Doreen Gillis, P.E.I.'s director of Early Childhood Development, says the department will have a focus group with unlicensed operators to find out what they need to stay afloat. (Steve Bruce/CBC)

"They're very anxious to know what the funding is going to look like for the next year," said Gillis.

The department is planning to meet with operators in the coming months to get a sense of what they need. She said the dollar figure of the grant will go up, but how much is still not settled.

Licensed home centres are a "very important" piece of the childcare puzzle on P.E.I., she said.

"We certainly want to be working with our operators to ensure the funding we're providing is what is actually required to sustain their operations," said Gillis.

Unlicensed home daycares that are struggling should call the department and look into the process of getting licensed, she said..