The Child Care Chaos
After years of neglect by previous governments, BC is now taking concrete steps to address the child care chaos across the province. These steps need to solve 3 big problems:
- Parent fees are too high, ranging from $800/month for preschoolers to over $1,000/month for younger children (provincial median).
- Too few licensed spaces – BC parents can’t find or afford quality child care, especially for shift work, as there are only enough licensed spaces for 18% of young children.
- Early Childhood Educators wages and benefits are too low – forcing many to leave the field and programs to close.
As a result, too many families have no choice but to use unregulated care that’s not monitored for health and safety, or even for meeting legal requirements—at times with tragic results.
Parents want – and children need – quality programs. Raising a child is a lot more expensive today than a generation ago. Parents are stressed and too many children are not getting the best possible start. Employers, communities and our economy are also affected.
The Cause
BC’s child care chaos was caused by weak government policies and low public investments.
Unlike schools, parks, hospitals, libraries and other community services, prior to 2018 child care received very little public funding. Most of the costs were paid by parents.
In fact, Canada has ranked LAST among developed nations on child care for more than a decade. We invest the least, have the lowest participation rates and weak family policies overall.
While Canada ranks last on child care, BC has been even further behind most of the rest of the country. Until recently, the BC government spent less so fees were high and access was low.
The Community’s Solution
The $10aDay Child Care Plan is the community’s solution to BC’s child care crisis. 82% of British Columbians agree that it will be beneficial to parents.
Affordable
The $10aDay Plan will make child care affordable by bringing fees down to
- $10 a day for full time care
- $7 a day for part time care
- No parent fees for families with annual incomes under $45,000
This will make a real difference for all families and is the single biggest step we can take to reduce poverty for families with young children.
Accessible
The $10aDay Plan will build a child care system that provides a licensed space for every child whose family wants or needs it, on a voluntary basis:
- All children, including those with extra support needs, will be welcome.
- A range of programs in licensed family homes and centres will reflect the rich diversity of BC families and communities
- Licensed spaces will accommodate parents with non-traditional hours/shift work
- Current child care providers will be invited into the new system
The $10aDay Plan supports First Nations, Métis and Inuit rights in Indigenous-led child care and urges governments to respond to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and to fully implement the BC Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
Quality
The quality of the system depends on Early Childhood Educators. They must be well-educated, well-respected and fairly-compensated.
The $10aDay Plan invests in the Early Childhood Educator workforce by supporting all caregivers to obtain an ECE Diploma. Over time, the workforce will transition towards a bachelor’s degree. Wages will also start at (2020 rates) $26 per hour for ECEs ($29 for IT/SN educators), along with improved benefits and regular adjustments for inflation (read more about the wage grid here).
Unlicensed caregivers will be supported to become Early Childhood Educators and work in the regulated system if they choose.
The Plan’s requirements for health & safety regulation and education for Early Childhood Educators are key to ensuring that consistently high quality programs are in place for all BC children, across regions and socio-economic groups.
Read and/or download the full plan here:
Government’s Response
BC Government
Since 2011, supporters across the province have advanced the Community’s $10aDay Child Care Plan as the solution to BC’s child care chaos. In February, 2018 the BC government introduced its Child Care BC Plan in response to this chaos. The 2 Plans have shared goals – reducing parent fees, increasing educator wages and education, and creating more licensed spaces that meet diverse family needs. Now, Plan supporters are tracking progress and taking action to ensure that every step leads us towards a universal, high quality, affordable child care system.
Federal Government
In 2021 the federal government committed to $10aDay child care across Canada and on July 8th, 2021 BC was the first province or territory to sign a Bilateral Agreement. This Agreement will invest $3.2 billion in BC child care over 5 years - reducing parent fees by an average of 50% by December 2022 and achieving $10aDay child care by 2026 for children under age 6. This new federal child care funding was reconfirmed in the results of the 2021 federal election.
Building on the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Canada’s child care community also acknowledges that First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities must be supported to design, deliver and govern child care systems and services that meet their needs and aspirations for self-determination. We support the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework.
In BC, the new federal funding supports the provincial government’s commitment to $10aDay universal child care, as well as development of a wage grid for educators, 30,000 new licensed spaces over 5 years, investments in supported child development, and more.
