Child-care crisis also work crisis

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This article was published 27/08/2019 (2249 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Most Canadians well understand there is a child-care crisis in Canada. Locating and accessing a quality child-care space is a nightmare for most parents, as is paying the child-care bills that cost significantly more per year in most regions of Canada than college or university tuition.

It’s no wonder that household debt in Canada is at record highs. But the other child-care crisis, perhaps the underlying crisis in Canada, lies with those who educate and care for our children.

Canada’s child-care workforce, more than 253,000 strong and predominantly women — about 98 per cent, according to recent Canadian data — often have the same education and credentials as a public school teacher, but earn a fraction of what they do. Ironically, many of these same women cannot earn enough to even dream of having their own children or affording the very same care they provide, as it would be unaffordable.

With little option, many leave the child-care workforce, unless they have a partner who earns enough to afford child-care.

For a couple of million moms and dads, dropping their children off to child-care centres or home/family child-care programs each morning countrywide, this underlying workforce crisis is invisible, yet they are primary players in it. The inability to retain qualified early childhood educators due to poor wages (often minimum wage) and working conditions leads to critically high staff turnover — which ends up hurting our children, and ultimately, society the most.

Research speaks very clearly on the need for high-quality early learning and child-care for children (for example, the Conference Board of Canada report “Ready for Life — A Socio-economic Analysis of Early Childhood Education and Care”). But at the heart of quality are the people who work with the children every day. Consistency in care, specific education in pedagogy for healthy child development, and ongoing professional development are just a few of the key characteristics of retaining a professional, capable and competent workforce — one which directly affects children’s early development and well-being.

Some provinces or municipalities offer wage subsidies, but they don’t go far, and these incentives come and go based on the whims of the current provincial and territorial governments. Sporadic funding and wage enhancements leave a workforce apprehensive at best, and looking at other career options when governments and policies change, as they most surely do.

What we have, then, is a systemic devaluing of the child-care profession and, consequently, a devaluing of the women who work so conscientiously to affect for the better the lives of children in care.

These unsustainable pay approaches also avoid the heart of the matter — a comprehensive and fulsome workforce strategy that not only attracts people to this very important work, but also retains them to ensure higher quality of care. This includes not only living wages, but market-competitive salaries and benefits for this predominantly female sector.

It may seem counter-intuitive to families (and policy makers, who are setting the stage) who are paying sky-high fees for their children’s care, that the people providing the care are struggling. Much of Canada’s child-care sector is based on an approach whereby parent fees are the primary source of funding.

Without proper supply-side funding, child-care programs will continue to offload operating costs to families and further, to inadvertently claw back a family’s provincial or federal income subsidies, of whatever form, in order to stay viable. It’s a vicious cycle.

By doubling our federal investment to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development-recommended one per cent of Canada’s GDP on child care, we would make child care more affordable and improve the quality of programs by supporting the education and training of early childhood educators. Our government currently invests 0.25 per cent. A real increase would improve pay and benefits to the child-care workforce.

Research tells us that the people who work in Canada’s child-care sector like their jobs and find a lot of importance and value in educating and caring for children. They are also looking to further their education, professional practice and knowledge of children and families. They want career longevity, predictability and growth; want excellent outcomes for children; and care deeply about the work they do. They also want wages and benefits reflecting the importance of their work.

As long as public policies and practices affecting the early-learning and child-care workforce continue down the same path, the cycle will not be broken.

If Canada’s federal government — in partnership with provincial, territorial and Indigenous governments — wants to take the correct next step, it will prioritize better pay, benefits and solutions to retain and recruit Canada’s early-learning and child-care workforce as the key to quality.

Don Giesbrecht is CEO and Marni Flaherty is chairwoman of the Canadian Child Care Federation.