Emergency child care for designated essential service workers
As Ontario schools are closed for in-person learning following the April break as part of the Ontario Government broader efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19, the Ministry of Education and the City of Hamilton is providing targeted free emergency child care for the school aged children of designated essential service workers effective April 19, 2021.
During this period, emergency child care services is available for designated essential workers as defined by the Provincial eligibility requirements, who are not able to accommodate their school-aged child’s learning or care at home.
Emergency child care is being provided by the three licensed home child care agencies in Hamilton. For more information on accessing this care, please contact one of these agencies:
- Today’s Family, [email protected], 905-574-9344 ext. 112
- Wee Watch Galbraith, [email protected], 905-561-0008
- Wee Watch Golfwood, [email protected], 905-574-5409 ext. 203
Licensed child care programs, including licensed centre based, home childcare care and child care located in schools, for children aged 0 to 3.8 years will continue during this period.
Complete list of Those Eligible for Emergency Child Care:
- Health care workers, including but not limited to doctors, nurses, health care providers and those who work in long-term care and retirement homes, as well as individuals who manufacture or distribute medical/pharmaceutical supplies
- Individuals performing work in relation to the administration, distribution or manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines
- Child care workers, including those staffing the emergency child care programs
- Grocery store and pharmacy workers
- Public safety (police, fire, paramedics, provincial inspection/enforcement), justice/court and correctional system workers
- Frontline staff in Children's Aid Societies and residential services
- Individuals working in developmental services, violence against women services, victims' services, anti-human trafficking and those engaged in interpreting or intervenor services for persons who are deaf or deaf-blind
- Individuals working in a homeless shelter or providing services to homeless persons
- Food safety inspectors and individuals working in the processing, manufacturing or distribution of food and beverages
- OPS staff employed in Radiation Protection Services
- OPS staff performing critical tasks related to environmental monitoring, reporting and laboratory services
- Certain federal employees, including RCMP, Canada Border Services, Canadian Armed Forces and Canada Post
- Power workers
- Non-municipal water and wastewater workers
- Workers involved in the collecting, transporting, storing, processing, disposing or recycling of any type of waste.
- Education staff who are required to attend schools to provide in-person instruction and support to students with special education needs who cannot be accommodated through remote learning
- Employees of a hotel or motel that is acting as an isolation centre, health care centre, vaccine clinic or housing essential workers.
- Truck drivers and transit workers
- Construction workers
- Any individual whose child was registered in an emergency child care program delivered by a Consolidated Municipal Service Manager or District Social Service Administration Board during the time period beginning on April 6, 2021 and ending on April 16, 2021.