NEWS RELEASE
COCHRANE DISTRICT SOCIAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION BOARD
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On Monday, April 12, 2021, the Premier of Ontario announced in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, to move elementary and secondary schools to remote learning following the April break. This move has been made in response to the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases, the increasing risks posed to the public by COVID-19 variants, and the massive spike in hospital admissions. Students enrolled in publicly-funded schools will move to virtual learning as of April 19, 2021.
Child care for children in infant, toddler and preschool will remain open for the duration of these public health actions. This includes child care offered in licensed child care centres and in licensed home child care provider settings.
During the period when elementary schools are operating virtually (beginning April 19, 2021), licensed child care centres and authorized recreation and skill-building providers will be prohibited from serving school-aged children. All before and after school programs are being closed during this period. These programs may resume operation when elementary schools return to in-person learning.
To support the parents of school-aged children who may not be able to support their child’s learning/care at home, the Ministry of Education will be implementing a targeted emergency child care program for school-aged children, at no cost to eligible parents, beginning April 19, 2021.
The Cochrane DSSAB Children’s Services administration has worked with the Ministry of Education Licensing to set up targeted emergency child care in Cochrane, Hearst, Iroquois Falls, Kapuskasing and Timmins. Centres approved for Emergency Child Care are listed on our website. Please do not contact centres for spots. All spots will be scheduled through CDSSAB Children’s Services. Online applications will be reviewed in order of applying only. CDSSAB staff will only contact you if there is an available spot for your child. You must provide all information required in the application within one business day or Children’s Services staff will move on to the next available application. Please review the eligibility list on our website prior to applying. The link to the application is: https://forms.gle/wEfQQvjyPtr7zeKA8
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