Faced with a critical shortage of child care, the District of Tofino, British Columbia, broke new ground by offering direct incentives for early childhood educators (ECEs) and ECE assistants.
The result is a gradual reopening of local child care centres that had closed or reduced hours due to lack of staff and an ongoing program to build ECE capacity into the future.
This case study by Jill Zacharias includes Tofino’s response to a child care needs assessment, details on local government support and action, and a description of the District’s strategy to attract and retain ECEs.