East Ferris is looking for input from local parents who use childcare services within the municipality. These residents are invited to take part in a survey, which is open until July 22nd. All responses will be anonymous and confidential, and the feedback you provide will help the municipality better understand the current needs of local families with children under 12 years of age.
The information will go to the District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board (DNSSAB), which provides funding to help run East Ferris’ two daycares, located at Ferris Glen Public School in Corbeil and within the Ecole Elementaire Catholique Saint-Thomas D’Aquin in Astorville.
Hearing from the community on this topic “stems from our Community Safety and Well-Being Plan,” explained East Ferris’ mayor, Pauline Rochefort. When people were surveyed for that plan, under the topic of Well-Being, “the issue of daycare came forward.”
Spurred on by the public, mayor and council “set a goal to create a business case in support of enhanced daycare services in East Ferris,” and this survey will provide much needed information to create that plan.
See: East Ferris safety plan survey shows 84% of residents happy with the community
The survey takes a few minutes to complete, and asks where your children attend daycare, how old the child is, whether the youth attends part or full-time, and at what times of day the kid needs care—for example, before or after school, or throughout summer holidays.
Participants are also asked if licensed home childcare spaces were available, would you be interested in using them? On that note, the survey asks if you or someone you know is considering starting such an establishment.
The survey also asks some questions about food and child supplies, specifically, if you can afford them or not, and offers space to add your general thoughts on childcare services in East Ferris.
Mayor Rochefort also mentioned how staffing can be an issue at daycares, and she would like to hear the community’s thoughts on that as well. “These are the issues that we as a council, in partnership with DNSSAB, want to hear about, and advocate for solutions.”
The survey is available in both English and French, and links can be found on the Municipality of East Ferris' Facebook page.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
