Much of the information provided below is via the Province of Alberta's Child Care Website, available here. 

Childcare for Essential Workers (with children ages 5-12)
 
The Town of Hinton is pleased to announce that our Hinton Kids for Success Child Care Facility, a licensed out-of-school care option for children age 5-12, has been approved for reopening by the Government of Alberta to provide childcare for essential workers. 
 
All licenced childcare facilities were closed by the Government of Alberta in March. Recently, the Province expanded the list of essential service workers for whom the availability of childcare was necessary. Please see the Government of Alberta website for a complete list of essential service workers.
 
Through the expansion of essential services, the Province allowed for licenced childcare facilities to submit requests to reopen to meet additional childcare demands in their communities. The Town of Hinton submitted a request to reopen the Town-run Hinton Kids for Success Program and received permission in April. This permission permits the Hinton Kids for Success Program to provide childcare for essential service workers for up to 24 children ages 5 to 12.
 
The Hinton Kids for Success Program will undertake additional safeguards, including reducing the number of children per room, additional cleaning and sanitization measures, and policies surrounding children and staff not attending when sick.
 
Essential service workers are asked to contact the Hinton Kids for Success Program at 780-740-8064 or register online on the Hinton Kids for Success webpage.
 
Details

• Online registration will open on Wednesday, April 22 at 12:00 p.m.
• Care will commence on Monday, April 27
• Hours of care will be from 7:45 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
• Offered Monday through Friday, excluding Statutory holidays
• Fees will be $40 per day
• Parents who qualify for child care subsidy will continue to be eligible

Eligible parents should only access childcare if it is the only way they can go to work in an essential services sector.

Additional Childcare Options

All other licensed childcare facilities in Alberta continue to be closed to the general public at this time, including:

• daycares
• out-of-school care
• preschool programs

See the following Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) order and amendment:

• CMOH Order 01-2020 (March 16, 2020)
• Note: this order was amended by CMOH Order 04-2020 to allow essential workers to have access to child care services operating under specific terms and conditions (March 20, 2020)

Home-based non-licensed childcare providers are exempt from the closure since they have fewer children in their care but should use enhanced sanitation practices. The maximum number of children allowed in approved family day homes has been temporarily changed to 6, not including their own children. This change allows approved family day homes to provide additional childcare spaces for people who need to continue to go into work or have children at home due to school closures.

This also gives approved day home providers flexibility in keeping their own children at home and brings them in alignment with private providers, who can also provide care for up to 6 children, not including their own, at any one time. The Government of Alberta does not monitor private childcare providers but can issue closures if they are over this limit.

There may be opportunities to access care through an approved family day home. To find a family day home agency in your area, see the list of approved family day home agencies (PDF, 178 KB), or use our online Child Care Lookup. However, the options may be limited.

If you choose to look for a private child care provider, information about what to look for is available here: Finding quality child care.

Enhanced Sanitation
Enhanced sanitation practices should be used by all child care providers, approved and private:

• Routinely clean and disinfect any surface that people regularly touch
• Handwashing facilities or hand sanitizer must be available to children
• Visitors and children should not enter if they are feeling unwell
• Visitors should wash their hands frequently