The Province is formally launching a new tool with enhanced features to help families more easily access early learning and child-care services.
The Manitoba Child Care Search is an online tool that connects families with licensed child-care facilities to meet their immediate or future needs.
It lists up-to-date information on licensed child-care centre vacancies, hours of operation and locations.
Families Minister Rochelle Squires says key features of the Manitoba Child Care Search, which is planned to go live by August 30th, include:
- An interactive map that makes it easier to browse facilities and find providers near a desired location. Users can filter the map by care type, facility type, vacancies and availability
- Expanded facility information to help families make decisions prior to contacting a provider including contact information, hours of operation, languages of care, highlights of programming, enrolment policies and for-profit versus non-profit status
- Links to facilities’ licences to allow parents to find out whether a child-care centre has a licence in good standing or a provisional licence, and to let them see the maximum number of children allowed at a facility, the period of the licence and any conditions applicable to the facility before making a decision about placement
- Information on the timing of data updates to ensure parents know whether vacancies posted and programming details are current
Squires says the province’s Online Child Care Registry is outdated, and will be retired on August 30th.
“Attempts were made to improve it, but it became clear a new system is needed.”
The minister says children currently enrolled in child-care spaces through the Online Child Care Registry will not lose their spots during the transition to the new system.
