Emergency Child Care Program for School-Aged Children of Frontline Workers

Sarnia, ON - On Monday, January 3, the Premier of Ontario announced that, in an effort to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, all schools in the province will revert to remote learning effective Wednesday, January 5, 2022, for a period of at least two weeks.

To support health care and frontline workers, the Ministry of Education has implemented a targeted emergency child care program for school-aged children only (ages 4 -12 years), at no cost to eligible parents, until schools reopen for in-person instruction, or until emergency child care is terminated by the Ministry of Education. Emergency Child Care (ECC) will be available starting January 10, 2022.

At this time, ECC spaces are very limited and will be prioritized for medical and emergency services personnel. A comprehensive list of individuals eligible for emergency childcare, along with the steps on how to apply, can be found on the Emergency Childcare Information Sheet at lambtononline.ca/childcare.

Emergency child care for school-aged children of health care and frontline workers will be offered at the following locations in the County of Lambton:

• London Bridge - Holy Trinity School - 60 Lorne Crescent, Sarnia
  Phone: 519-337-8668
  Email: jvallinga@londonbridge.com
• YMCA - St. Anne's School - 1000 The Rapids Parkway, Sarnia
  Phone: 519-542-8846 x 22
  Email: ruthann.whitley@swo.ymca.ca
• Lambton Rural Child Care
  Phone: 519-331-0802
  Email: mwallis@lrchildcare.com
  • Brooke Central Public School - 7989 Brooke Line #7, Alvinston
  • Errol Village Public School - 3568 Egremont Road, Camlachie
• Sombra Township Child Care, Riverview Site - 3926 St Clair Parkway, Port Lambton
  Phone: 519-892-3151 ext. 201
  Email: nderoeven@stccadmin.ca
• YMCA - St. Joseph's Corunna School - 535 Birchbank Drive, Corunna
  Phone: 519-862-5071 ext. 221
  Email: kelly.graham@swo.ymca.ca

School aged child care spaces are limited at each site. Eligible families must follow the steps outlined below to apply for emergency child care:

Step 1: Complete a simplified application for emergency child care by emailing childcareadmin@county-lambton.on.ca or by calling the County of Lambton Children's Services Department at: 519-344-2062 extension 2201;

Step 2: A Children's Services Department staff will follow up with applicants within 2 business days to confirm eligibility;

Step 3: Once the applicant has received e-mail confirmation approving them for emergency childcare, they can contact one of the approved providers listed above to secure a child care space. The applicant must share their Children’s Services Department approval email to the child care provider as proof of eligibility.

School aged child care spaces will be filled on a ‘first-come first–served’ basis. If a child care space is not available for your request, the name of each eligible child will be kept on a waitlist.

For more information on child care in the County of Lambton, visit lambtononline.ca/childcare.

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Please contact:

Melissa Fitzpatrick
Manager, Homelessness Prevention and Children's Services
County of Lambton
519-344-2062 ext. 2016
Email Melissa Fitzpatrick