High Quality Early Care and Learning is a Child's Right!

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, general comment 7, emphasizes that all children have a right to high quality Early Childhood Education with well-trained Early Childhood Educators, who's work should be socially valued and properly paid.

Yet...

• We have waitlists, in some cases years long.
• We have fees so high that child care is the second highest family expense, after housing.
• We have licensed, trained Early Childhood Educators leaving the field after an average of three years due to a lack of societal respect and below poverty wages.
• We have the highest child poverty rate in the country, here in BC (despite claiming a giant budget surplus)
• We rank last in child care investment among all developed countries

and...

Unicef has stated that Canada has failed to achieve benchmarks in child and family poverty and child care quality and access standards.
The good news is that we have a solution to the child care crisis in BC! A solution that's been endorsed by well over two million people (over 40 municipalities- including Salmon Arm, several Unions, hundreds of groups/ committees/ organizations, and thousands of individuals).

The Community Plan for a Public System of Integrated Early Care and Learning, known as the 10aDay Plan, is an evidence-based, made in BC solution for supporting families in our community.

The 10aDay Plan addresses three key components of the child care crisis;

Affordability

• $10/Day for full time care
• $7/Day for part time care, including preschool
• Free for families with an annual income below $40,000
• This would benefit all families and is the single best thing we can do to reduce poverty for families with children.

Accessibility

• Programs will be inclusive
• Licensed child care spaces will be available to anyone who wants or needs one, on a voluntary basis.
• There will be a range of programs offered to meet the diverse needs of families in BC communities.
• First Nations communities will develop culturally relevant child care services to meet their needs.

Quality

• Early Care and Learning Professionals will be well educated, respected, and fairly compensated.
• Support will be offered to all caregivers in obtaining a diploma and, over time, transition to a bachelor's degree.
• Increase wages to an average of $25/hr. with improved benefits.
• Unregulated caregivers will be supported in becoming regulated, if they choose.

I'm asking that you go to www.10aday.ca and sign our petition asking the federal government to remove the barriers to children's right to high quality, affordable, and accessible early care and learning programs.

Insight West 2015 poll results show that public awareness about the 10aDay Plan is high.

• 82% of BC residents polled were in favour of the 10aDay Plan.
• 53% of residents over 55 years old said that they didn't want to be relied on to provide child care for their grandchildren.
• 73% felt that the 10aDay Plan would boost our economy.
• 64% said that it was better to fund child care services than to provide cash for parents.

Learn more about our campaign at "votechildcare.ca" and, once again, please go to "10aday.ca" and sign our petition to end the child care crisis in BC and the rest of Canada. Thank You.

Friday Bailey is a proud early childhood educator in Salmon Arm, B.C.