The Toronto Star
“Children sleep in an airless room that is so damp, the floor is wet and the bedding is soggy.”
“An unattended toddler rides a toy car into a busy intersection and is rescued by an alarmed motorist.”
These are just some examples of scenes depicted in the provincial investigation into unlicensed child care. In the year before Eva Ravikovich died in an illegal home day care, 300,000 complaints were launched about unlicensed child care.
The Star obtained Ministry of Education files showing that about 40% of cases, caregivers were looking after more than 5 children under the age of 10, not including their own. This is a clear violation of Ontario’s Day Nurseries Act.
Statistics published on the ministry website after the death of Eva, shows 25 of 448 complaints went unanswered between January 2012 and July 18, 2013.
By the numbers:
-60% of complaints—more than 180—were in the GTA
-Violations noted in 70 of the GTA cases
-Peel and Toronto had the most violations, with 22 and 20
-Durham= 12 violations, York= 11 violations, Halton= 5 violations
Andrea Calver from the OCBCC states:
“The financial incentive to add another child is huge,” said Calver.
“There is a lot of money to be made in unlicensed daycare,” she adds. “You need no skills, no qualifications, no experience . . . All you need to do is post a flyer in a grocery store charging $5 less than the going rate and you will be full in a month.”
Click here to read the full article