Edmonton daycare centre shut down over concerns of unsupervised children

An Edmonton daycare has been shut down after failing to address concerns about unsupervised children, the province said Thursday.

A news release from the province says Willowbrae Academy West Point Centre, on 99 Avenue and 175 Street, was suspended and placed on a probationary licence after "a number" of non-compliances.

• Sign up for breaking news alerts from CTV News Edmonton, right at your fingertips

Child Care Licensing worked with the operators in an effort to help them resolve the issues.

However, when the probationary licence expired on Wednesday, the province said the location's suspended licence was not reinstated due to ongoing concerns and "unaddressed non-compliances involving unsupervised children."

Caregivers for the 187 children who attended the daycare were told about the closure in person on Wednesday.

The province says those not told in person will be notified by email.

The interior of Willowbrae Academy West Point Centre is seen in an undated photo from the facility's website. (willowbraechildcare.com)Luis Rivas, whose three-year-old attended the daycare, says the announcement caught him off guard as he and his family had never encountered any issues with the facility.

"The daycare informed us that they were on a probation period for three months, (and that) the probation period was coming to an end this week. We were getting email communications on how things were developing and there were good signs.

"They had a licence to operate with 202 kids, that was the capacity, so the communication was they were going to reinstate the licence but at a reduced capacity, so 110 (kids) instead, so they cut it by half."

Rivas says while some of the parents were then notified that they'd have to find childcare elsewhere due to the reduction in capacity, he and his wife were unaffected, and that nothing would change for them.

"Then yesterday, when we came to pick up the kids – my wife actually came to pick them up – there was six officers from child services here shutting it down," he said.

"A lot of parents will be in a tricky spot, especially now with the demand for daycares – there's not that many openings.

"I've reached out to multiple facilities, and nobody has openings; there's long waitlists – even a year-out from today."

Rivas says he ended up getting his child into a downtown daycare he had previously used, but it's not as close to their home or very convenient to get to.  

He says he was told by the daycare he'd be reimbursed for a portion of October's childcare fees.

Rivas' kid had only been attending Willowbrae since Aug. 1.

The province says the daycare has 30 days to request an administrative review, alternative dispute resolution or an appeal.

Anyone with concerns about a childcare program in their community or needing to report an incident can do so by calling Child Care Connect toll-free at 1-844-644-5165.