Military Family Resource Centre staff and board members inspect the resources at the new $84,000 daycare space at CFB Shilo on May 18. (Photo K-J Millar/Shilo Stag Media)

K-J Millar
Shilo Stag Media

After a meticulous 15-month process, the CFB Shilo Military and Family Resource Centre (MFRC) has completed an $84,000 expansion to its daycare facilities. This significant development, which officially opened on May 21, is set to have a profound impact on the community.

MFRC Director Rob Lavin said the space magnification allows for 14 new spots, including eight infants and six toddlers, increasing the childcare centre’s capacity to 128.

“This is the first time we have actually flipped, where we have more in-care spots than those on the waiting list … And that’s good news,” he said at the opening attended by guests and members of the Base Command Team.

The new spots will open effectively on June 3 and 10, with the infants first, followed by toddlers.

Lavin expressed gratitude to the current Base Command for supportive additional funding “above and beyond the annual service level agreement to ensure financial support was in place to bridge a provincial lapse in funding.”

The base funding assured the allowance of additional professional childcare staff to support the increase in places, he said.

MFRC Board Chair Christine Wright underscored the expansion’s far-reaching benefits. It will alleviate the waiting list for military families needing childcare and stimulate economic growth within the CFB Shilo community, marking a significant milestone in the collective journey.

“In the spring of 2023, our waiting list was almost 200 children. It was just enormous,” Wright said. “The list became absolutely wild in January 2023.”

Overcoming numerous challenges, including the need for additional licensing from the Province, the MFRC, with the assistance of Real Property Operations (RP Ops), explored various options for the expansion. These included using a PMQ and redesigning the existing space, demonstrating the team’s commitment and dedication.

“The daycare management team identified where the greatest need was. It was determined to absolutely be the infant space. Then we focussed on what we could do to make more infant toddler space available in the building after exhausting a number of possibilities.”

Wright clarified that an infant is three months to two years old, and a toddler is two to three years old. The childcare facility provides services for children up to 12, with before and after-school care and summer programming. A teen centre is also available for drop-in and socialization.

“We looked at optimizing space everywhere in the building. Then it was determined that optimizing space already on the daycare side was the most feasible and easy to accomplish.”

Some structural changes were needed, such as adding a door for access so licensing could be issued and adding a changing table in a space previously utilized by kindergarten ages.

Once the Province comes out, it measures and assesses the space to determine how many children can be accommodated.

Wright said that each child is required to have a designated amount of square footage area.

“For every four infants that we make space for, we also need to hire at least one staff member to maintain the ratios to meet provincial guidelines,” Wright said, adding toddlers are one to six ratios.

“It was definitely more complicated than just making the space happen … the space itself has been ready for a number of months. We have just been waiting for the Province to give the licence to the space for that age group.”

Wright explained they could not open without Provincial funding in place and without financial risk to the creche, but if they hadn’t opened, they could have been looking at a one to two-year wait to open.

Lavin said the good news is that even with a change of Base Command, the $84,000 bridge funding need was understood, and the commitment for it was carried through.

Two early childcare educators and two childcare assistants were to encompass and meet the additional need with provincial staffing mandates.

The childcare facility does have a priority waiting list to support military families.

“When a space becomes available, the first person to get a call is the first family on the military list,” Wright said.

The Board chair explained that before the introduction of $10 per day fees, the waitlist was 50 to 60 children.

“In the current $10 a day world, it jumped a massive amount and truly became unmanageable.”

Lavin said the economic benefits to the community from the expansion may not be as visible, but they will have a rippling effect.

“We’re going to see more spouses in the workforce, which means more services will be tapped into, like our employment councillor … Every new spot that we open, moving forward, will also contribute to the economic benefit. This is a huge community economic development benefit.

Wright backed up Lavin, adding the mental health benefits will be profound to new families posted into Base. She beleive one of the major stressors for parents relocating to a remote area like Shilo is the concern about childcare.

“It is massive with the reassurance that this is a safe, licensed, well-trained staff and comfortable space for their children while they become acquainted in their new space.”

The ribbon was cut to the new childcare centre at the MFRC on May 21.  Photo K-J Millar/Shilo Stag Media

After 15 months of planning and building, the new MFRC daycare section is open on May 21. (Photo: K-J Millar/Shilo Stag Media)