Operational Bulletin 508 – March 14, 2013
Settlement Program Support Services Provisions for Care for Newcomer Children
Summary
This Operational Bulletin (OB) seeks to inform settlement officers of certain changes. These changes pertain to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) funded child-care services. Currently, these services are a part of the Settlement Program.
The authorities plan to replace the existing:
- Language Instruction for Newcomers (LINC) Childminding services and,
- The Occasional Childcare services (applicable in Ontario)
They would replace these services with a new unlicensed child-care model. The name of the new model is Care for Newcomer Children (CNC).
The Care for Newcomer Children (CNC) model would comprise:
- Long-term care
- Short-term care and,
- Combined care
Together, these would be able to support the full range of settlement services that the CIC currently funds.
Issue
The authorities plan to introduce the Care for Newcomer Children (CNC) on April 01, 2013. This model would address concerns about the previously offered:
- Language Instruction for Newcomers (LINC) Childminding services and,
- The Occasional Childcare services (applicable in Ontario)
Background
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) gained awareness about the various concerns pertaining to the:
- Language Instruction for Newcomers (LINC) Childminding services and,
- Occasional Childcare services (applicable in Ontario)
These concerns arose through evaluations and consultations with:
- Regions
- Service Provider Organisations (SPOs) and,
- The childcare monitoring agency funded by the CIC
Hence, the CIC decided to replace these existing services with the new Care for Newcomer Children (CNC) model.
The new Care for Newcomer Children (CNC) model addresses concerns like the:
- Inefficient use of resources
- Ineffective and outdated practices
- Inconsistent service offerings across regions and,
- Lack of flexibility for supporting adult settlement services
The Care for Newcomer Children (CNC) model is a new, child-care support service. It enables eligible parents to attend the CIC-funded settlement services. That too, while their children receive care onsite. The Care for Newcomer Children (CNC) model is better than the previous system as it provides:
- Flexible care
- Efficient care and,
- Comprehensive care
In addition, a set of requirements and an operations manual governs the Care for Newcomer Children (CNC) model. Interested readers could obtain further details at the Childminding Monitoring Advisory and Support website.
Officers could use the Care for Newcomer Children (CNC) model in provinces. This would allow exemptions from daycare licensing. This is especially relevant in situations where the parents and the children are at the same site.
As was the case previously, Service Provider Organisations (SPOs) could also apply for CIC funding. This would enable them to:
- Purchase licensed care seats or
- Set up a licensed daycare facility
In all cases, the requirements of the current provincial legislation are significant. Eventually, these legislations enable the officers to select the appropriate child care for supporting settlement programming.
Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)
