Emergency Childcare Service

What is it?

In the event a member should require emergency childcare outside the family’s routine arrangement for childcare, the Emergency Childcare Service (ECS) is available to assist with alternative childcare options and can also assist with respite childcare. Emergencies do not include recurring events in the course of a year for which a plan should be developed, such as alternate care arrangements for ill children.

The ECS can also provide limited financial assistance to help offset the expense of emergency childcare.

The role of the Emergency Childcare Service is to enhance and complement the family’s regular childcare plan, not replace it.

What defines an emergency situation?

If a family's Family Care Plan(FCP) fails, the CCPC is authorized to fund up to 72 continuous hours of emergency childcare under the following circumstances:
• When the member is employed/deployed away from home and the spouse/caregiver is unable to provide immediate care for the child/children due to illness or any other family emergency;
• When the member is required to report for duty of any type wherein the duty could not have been reasonably forecast and less than seven days notice to report for duty is given. This presumes that the spouse/usual caregiver cannot readily accommodate this unexpected CF duty requirement;
• When a single parent or both parents are CF members and they are unable to access the regular childcare provider;
• When there is illness of a child that would prevent a parent from accessing their usual arrangement for care at a time when the CF member’s presence at work is critical to the military operation; and
• When there are circumstances not covered in the above and childcare is believed to be the solution to the problem. The Canadian Community Program Coordinator (CCPC) and a DMFS staff member must approve such cases.

When there is a need for respite childcare in or out of the child’s home due to the total family situation, including the CF member’s work commitments. In such cases the (up to) 72 hours of free care need not be continuous. Such cases should only be undertaken on the advice of a medical or social services professional, eg. physician, public health nurse, social worker, chaplain, psychologist, etc; andAgain, emergencies do not include recurring events in the course of a year for which a plan should be developed, such as alternate care arrangements for ill children.

It is expected that any emergency situation can be resolved within 24-72 hours. In exceptional circumstances, allocation of an additional 96 hours may be available.

What about financial assistance?

Financial assistance, with respect to the expenses of emergency childcare, is available through the CCPC within the following parameters and limitations:

• Funding of emergency childcare for up to 72 hours is available to all CF members and their spouses through the CCPC under the guidelines outlined above. The 72 hours are normally expected to be continuous except when there is a need for respite childcare in or out of the child’s home;
• Funding is provided only for registered and licensed childcare services or for those individuals screened and approved by the CCPC. In exceptional circumstances the CCC in consultation with DMFS may approve payment to the child’s usual and non-parental childcare giver if it is determined that this is in the best interest of the child. Under no circumstances can parents or legal guardians be given funding directly under the terms of this policy;
• Funding of emergency childcare for up to an additional 4 days maximum, is available on a CF member sliding scale; and
• The sliding scale of funding available for up to 4 more days after the first 72 hours is detailed in the following chart.




Total Family Income (Gross) per annum	Percentage of childcare costs to be covered by the CCC in case of emergency childcare required beyond 72 hours, up to a maximum of four more days
Over $65K	NIL
$60K-$65K	25%
$55K-$60K	30%
$50K-$55K	35%
$45K-$50K	40%
$40K-$45K	45%
under $40K	50%

Do I need to have a Family Childcare Plan on file?

Everyone should have a childcare plan developed for emergency purposes. All CF members must complete the FCP form 2267. This form is kept on the member’s file at the CFSU(C) and is protected in accordance with the Privacy Act. Members can indicate if they wish to share their plan with the local CMFRC.

Would you like to be an Emergency Childcare provider?

It is expected that the services of an emergency childcare provider will be required on an infrequent basis in the Colorado Springs community and that any emergency situation would be of short duration. However, it is important to be able to provide childcare to any member of our community should the need ever arise.

If you are interested in supporting the Canadian community by becoming an emergency childcare provider when our members are in need, please contact the Canadian Military Family Resource Center, 556-9269 for further information.

Those wishing to become emergency childcare providers must meet certain standards. These are determined by an interview, a reference-check and an in-home inspection. The childcare provider must be certified in CPR and First Aid, or agree to attend a CPR and First Aid course within 6 months. This is not unpaid work. Renumeration for childcare providers is based on the rates for childcare services that prevail in the Colorado Springs area.