Finally, something to celebrate this Child Care Month

Despite success, there’s still work to be done, say Sharon Gregson and Lynell Anderson.

Lower parent fees well underway. Next priorities: improve educator wages, more licensed spaces.

May is Child Care Month in B.C. This year, we have something big to celebrate: a government commitment to high-quality, affordable child care for all who choose it and a budget and a plan to start implementation. With the initial steps underway, parent fees are starting to go down, not up, for the first time in almost two decades.

Action started in February when the B.C. government released Budget 2018, which included a historic child care investment of $1 billion over three years and a bold strategy to build quality, universal child care over time.

Immediate commitments include support for an Indigenous early learning and child care framework along with lower parent fees, investments in the workforce, and more licensed spaces.

These first steps will sound familiar to many British Columbians, because they are consistent with the $10-a-day plan recommendations to address the long-standing child care chaos across B.C.

In March, the B.C. government took action on unaffordable parent fees. All providers who operate full-time licensed child care programs for children under age six (the most expensive form of care) are invited to participate in the fee reduction initiative. This inclusive approach is consistent with the $10-a-day plan recommendation to build on existing child care services that have been created and nurtured in communities, without much-needed public funding support.

To date, providers of about 80 per cent of eligible spaces have applied to receive new public funding to cover the cost of lowering parent fees. Families of more than 26,000 children are already benefiting from fee reductions of up to $350 per month per child.

Next, we expect government to fulfil its commitment to create thousands of new spaces. As there are only enough licensed spaces for 18 per cent of young children in B.C. today, the $10-a-day plan recommends that the B.C. government start immediately to work with school districts, local governments and health authorities to fund new licensed child care on public property. Custom-designed modular buildings can be built quickly to create new, high-quality centres while a longer-term capital plan is developed.

At the same time, we call for an immediate wage enhancement for educators, to begin to address the recruitment and retention crisis primarily caused by low wages and lack of benefits. Research confirms that early childhood educators are the foundation of quality child care and the $10-a-day plan prioritizes investment in a well-educated, fairly paid and valued workforce.

Clearly, we can’t create more licensed spaces without investing in the educators needed to work in those programs.

Lowering parent fees, raising educator wages, and creating more licensed spaces are all essential to achieving the $10-a-day plan; not a slogan, but a 10-year blueprint for making quality, affordable child care available across B.C. for all who choose it.

This made-in-B.C. solution is grounded in decades of research and evidence and six years of provincewide consultation. It’s supported by thousands of individuals, organizations and employers, including more than half of B.C. school districts, 48 local governments and allies like the Surrey Board of Trade, Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, and Vancity Credit Union, to name but a few.

So it’s not surprising that the current B.C. government campaigned on implementing the $10-a-day plan.

Yet, in celebrating our collective success this month, we cannot sit back and assume that the work is done.

We must continue to hold government accountable for their $10-a-day child care commitments to children, families and educators. And, given that the other provincial political parties also made major commitments to child care, we must urge cross-party support for action.

This May we all have more reasons to celebrate Child Care Month than ever before. Then, back to work!

Sharon Gregson is spokeswoman for the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of B.C.’s $10-a-day campaign; Lynell Anderson is a chartered professional accountant who works with the Coalition of Child Care Advocates.