Released on May 25, 2001
Social Services Minister Harry Van Mulligen has reaffirmed the Saskatchewangovernment's committment to child care providers, designating May 27th to
June 2nd Child Care Week.
"On any given day, thousands of parents entrust the care, safety and
nurturing of their children to others," Van Mulligen said. "These trusted
others may be called early childhood educators, they may be called
caregivers, or they may be called baby sitters. But whatever they choose
to be called, they provide a service that has tremendous impact on the
health, safety, success and happiness of our children now and in the
future."
The 2001-2002 provincial budget includes more than $2.5 million in
increased funding for child care including:
$1.5 million, as part of the Kids First early childhood development
initiative, to develop child care services for high risk families
with vulnerable children;
a $519,000 increase in wages and benefits for child care workers,
as part of the $6 million increase in Community Based Organization
(CBO) funding announced in the spring budget; and
$500,000 in the second year of a four-year commitment to increase
the quality of care, to be used for equipment, startup grants and
training.
"By declaring the week of May 27th - June 2nd as Child Care Week, we hope
to raise public awareness of the importance of child care and show our
appreciation to all those caring, capable individuals who are shapers and
custodians of the most precious resource we have--our children," Van
Mulligen said.
-30-
For more information, contact:
Doug Wakabayashi
Social Services
Regina
Phone: (306) 787-8689