Province needs child-care plan

Posted on December 15, 2011 in Child & Family Delivery System

Source: Toronto Star — Authors: Carolyn Ferns, Shani Halfon

TheStar.com – opinion/letters – Re: Big-box child care buys Ontario centres, Dec. 13
Published On Wed Dec 14 2011. Carolyn Ferns

Education Minister Laurel Broten says she won’t declare a moratorium on new for-profit child care because some communities don’t have any non-profit providers. The minister can’t just throw up her hands and declare it’s up to the market.

If Ontario had a real plan for child care, municipal centres wouldn’t be gutted. If Ontario had a real plan for child care there would be planning in place that ensured decent access for families across the province.

If Ontario had a real child-care system, big box companies wouldn’t be able to take advantage.

Carolyn Ferns, Research Officer, Childcare Resource and Research Unit, Toronto

< http://www.thestar.com/opinion/letters/article/1102226–province-needs-child-care-plan >

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No to corporate child care

TheStar.com – opinion/letters – Re: Big-box child care buys Ontario centres, Dec. 13
Published On Wed Dec 14 2011. Shani Halfon

Your excellent article identifies the CEO of the “big box” company as rejecting advocates’ warnings that corporate child care delivers inferior programs.” In fact, advocates’ warnings are backed by a significant amount of empirical evidence that is easily accessible.

This research shows that for-profit childcare centres have to cut costs in order to make their desired profits and that a large portion of this cost cutting is directed at staffing costs, which — in a high quality centre — can account for more than 80 per cent of the budget. The result is low pay, high turnover and poor staff morale.

As consistent, properly compensated and unstressed staffing is closely linked to program quality, it is quite clear why corporate child care is likely to produce “inferior” programs. It’s all there — look at the research.

Shani Halfon, Early childhood educator, Toronto

< http://www.thestar.com/opinion/letters/article/1102229–no-to-corporate-child-care >

Tags: budget, child care, ideology, privatization, standard of living

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