The waiting list for public childcare in Champlain Township is long.
Champlain Township provides public childcare services using space at St-Jean-Baptiste school in L’Orignal, and St. Jude and Saint-Grégoire schools in Vankleek Hill.
The monthly Champlain Township Childcare Services report for March 2023 states there were 59 infants (age 18 months or less), 35 toddlers (age 18 months to 2.5 years) 30 preschoolers (age 2.5 years to four years) and four school age (age four years or more) on the waiting list for services at the Champlain Daycare, which operates at Saint-Grégoire. In March 2023, there were 53 infants, 11 toddlers, 32 preschoolers, and three school age children on the waiting list for the L’Atelier daycare facility at St-Jean-Baptiste. There was no waiting list for services at the Champlain Learning Centre and Drop-In Centre which the township operates at St. Jude school.
According to Champlain Township Communications Specialist Zoé Fortin-Larocque, an exact wait time cannot be provided because it differs among age groups. The township has closed registration for new children who are one year old because the waiting list is already so long.
The United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR) provides Ontario Early Years services. The EarlyON program offers free programs for children from birth to age six. The programs offer early education and support for both children and parents. The most recent statistics from the UCPR are for the second half (July to December) of 2022. In December 2022, 570 children and 504 families were receiving Early Years services across the UCPR. No children were on a waiting list for those services in December 2022.
