A regional committee has agreed to help local non-profits expand childcare access in Waterloo Region.
The municipality is set to invest $4.4 million to build two modular facilities, which would offer more than 190 childcare spaces.
Local non-profits have struggled to find spaces to help the more than 8,700 children and their families who are in need of childcare access. Rent at appropriate locations is reportedly unaffordable, and the spaces themselves lack green space.
Modular spaces are often used for childcare in B.C. and Manitoba, as well as south of the border in the U.S. These spaces are built off-site and installed at a location that’s determined to serve families most in need.
According to regional staff, the up-front cost will be balanced out by the affordable rent the region charges non-profits who are set to use their space, and the initial $1.2 million cost of installing the modular facilities is being funded through provincial and federal initiatives like the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care agreement.
The Waterloo Region District School Board has agreed to have these modular facilities installed on school grounds. Those spaces will be determined at a later date.
The Region of Waterloo has committed to adding more than 4,000 spaces of childcare by the end of 2026.
Modular and portable facilities have been used on school grounds this year at Elizabeth Ziegler Public School to help those students maintain access to in-person learning while their school undergoes significant maintenance and repairs.
According to regional staff, piloting the model of using modular spaces to fill the needs of children could have significant community impacts.
The spaces could last up to 30 years when they’re completed, and could take between six and nine months to be built.
The modular childcare facilities are set to start providing spaces to local families by December 2026.
