3 Calgary daycare programs shut down after posing ‘imminent danger’ to kids, province says

Three Calgary daycare programs have been forced to close their doors after the province found they posed an “imminent danger” to the health and safety of kids.

The province says Little Scholars Daycare Greenview, Little Scholars Daycare ECS Ltd. and Little Scholars Daycare Inc. were forced to shut down Monday due to a number of non-compliances.

Licenses have been cancelled for the three programs and they have been placed on probationary licenses that are set to expire on Aug. 30.

“Due to ongoing concerns and increased risk, Child Care Licensing determined that there was an imminent danger to the health, safety and well-being of children attending the programs,” reads a release from the province.

“Child Care Licensing has worked with the programs through enhanced monitoring to support them in returning to compliance.”

It’s not clear exactly what kind of danger was being posed to the children’s health.

Assistant director at Little Scholars Daycare, Shachie Saini, says they were first notified of issues in May and were working with the province to resolve them. So, they were caught off guard when their three locations were ordered closed Monday.

“They didn’t give us any information, no reason. When we try to ask, just ‘Nope, we’ll have a meeting about this later maybe, nope, later,'” she said. “It doesn’t seem like a collaborative productive space for us to improve, it seems like it’s designed for us to fail.”

In a statement to CityNews the Ministry of Jobs, Economy, and Trade says it monitors licensed child care programs across the province to ensure safety and compliance with the Early Learning and Child Care Act and Early Learning and Child Care Regulation.

“Compliance issues are often identified through routine inspections of licensed child care programs,” the ministry said. “When a compliance issue is identified, the department works with the licensed child care program to bring them back into compliance and in line with the standards outlined in the legislation and regulation.”

Furthermore, if a a licensed child care program isn’t able to meet the standards set out by the government, it can be subject to enforcement action including license suspension and probation.

Probation periods can vary depending on the issues identified by the province, and if the programs is unable to return to compliance during the probationary period, their license will expire. Alternatively, the ministry says the license may be cancelled before the end of the probation period.

“Compliance is the goal, closure is the last resort,” the ministry added.

The closures will impact about 300 children and the province says parents who are affected were told about the closures in person on Monday. Any parents not informed in person will be sent an email.

A notice is being posted on the door of each impacted facility that notifies the license has been cancelled. It includes a list of 11 non-compliances, including improper record keeping, child to staff ratio, and not notifying a parent following an accident involving a child.

Licensed child care providers whose licenses have been cancelled have the right to appeal, meaning the province is not able to release the full list of non-compliance relating to Little Scholars Daycare Greenview, Little Scholars Daycare ECS Ltd., and Little Scholars Daycare Inc.

Alternative child-care options are being provided by Jobs, Economy and Trade. More information on program closures in Alberta can be found on the government’s website.