Parents are scrambling to come up with a “Plan B” as they learn about upcoming changes to how daycare is funded in Saskatchewan.

“If they close the door on casual, then I can’t work until we can get in full-time,” said Amanda Greentree, who uses daycare on a casual basis.

But some daycares say changes to how $10 a day child care is funded in Saskatchewan mean those casual spaces will no longer be financially feasible.

“The only funding we will get for those extra children is the $10 a day we receive from the parents,” said Cara Werner with Dream Big Day Care. “What that will break down to is we would be provided a dollar an hour for a 10-hour childcare day.”

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Right now, daycare operators receive funding per child.

Parents like the setup because one spot can be shared among multiple part-time families on different days, which works well for parents with kids in kindergarten.

But in July, funding will only be allocated per space offered. Werner thinks most daycare operators will just do away with their casual and part-time spaces.

“Because it is not sustainable. It’s not feasible for them to bring in anybody above and beyond their licensed capacity because they’re not getting funding for them,” Werner said.

The province says it is not stopping operators from offering part-time spaces. They are just eliminating duplicate grants so multiple children can’t use the same spot.

“That is to extend operating grants to new spaces that are becoming operational and to provide additional affordability to new families that are going to be covered for another year,” said Sameema Haque, assistant deputy minister with the Ministry of Education.

This will build on the more than 35,000 spaces already available at $10 a day and the 7,000 spaces in development.

Greentree said she would accept a full-time daycare spot if one were available, but said the waitlist is 21 months.

“I really do feel like I am between a rock and a hard place. I really have no other options. I have one daycare,” Greentree said.

So as the province works to create more spaces, some are left wondering what good that space is if it no longer fits the reality of their lives.