Child Care Centre Waiting List Policy and Procedure

LARC’s licensed child care programs will strive to accommodate all requests for the registration of a child at the child care centre or providers home. Where the maximum capacity of a program has been reached and spaces are unavailable for new children to be enrolled, the waiting list procedures set out below will be followed.  No fee will be charged to parents for placing a child on the waiting list.

 

The Supervisors of Amherstview, Yarker, Millcreek and North Addington maintain their own individualized waitlist. The Supervisor of our School Age Program maintains the waitlist for our school age sites. The Manager of our Licensed programs maintains the waitlist for The Prince Charles Nursery School. Our Home Child Care Visitor maintains the waitlist for agency placed children and the provider will be responsible for managing the waiting list for privately placed children.

 

Procedures

Receiving a Request to Place a Child on the Waiting List

1.         The Supervisors, designate, Home Child Care Visitor or Manager of Licensed Programs will receive parental requests to place children on a waiting list via telephone, online applications and in-person meetings.

 

Placing a child on the Waiting List

1.         The Supervisor, designate, Home Child Care Visitor or Manager of Licensed Programs place a child on the waiting list in chronological order, based on the date and time that the request was received.

2.         Once a child has been placed on the waiting list, the Supervisor, designate, Home Child Care Visitor or Manager of licensed programs will inform parents of their child’s position on the list.

 

Determining Placement Priority when a Space Becomes Available

1.         When space becomes available in the program/providers home, priority will be given to children who are currently enrolled and siblings of children currently enrolled.

2.         Once these children have been placed, priority is given to requests for full time care over part time care as well as room availability and the chronology in which the child was placed on the waiting list. 

 

Offering an Available Space

1.         Parents of children on the waiting list will be notified via telephone and/or email that a space has become available in their requested program.

2.         Parents will be provided a timeframe of 5 business days in which a response is required to confirm the acceptance of space.

3.         Where a parent has not responded within the given timeframe, the Supervisor, designate, Home Child Care Visitor or Manager of Licensed Programs will contact the parent of the next child on the waiting list to offer them the space.

 

Responding to Parents who inquire about their Child’s Placement on the Waiting List

1.         Supervisors, Manager of licensed programs and our Home Child Care Visitor will be the contact person for parents who wish to inquire about the status of their child’s place on the waiting list.

2.         Supervisors, Manager of licensed programs and our Home Child Care Visitor will respond to parent inquiries and provide the child’s current position on the list and an estimated likelihood of the child being offered a space in the program.

 

Maintaining Privacy and Confidentiality

1.         The waiting list will be maintained in a manner that protects the privacy and confidentiality of the children and families on the list and therefore only the child’s position on the waiting list will be provided to parents.

2.         Names of other children or families and/or their placement on the waiting list will not be shared with other individuals.

 

Additional Procedures

Families which contact the centre/Home Visitor after the timeline to respond will be placed at the bottom of the waitlist.  Families offered space in the center and defer until a later date will be notified of their position on the waitlist.  Families who do not respond within 30 days will be removed from the waitlist.