Liberal's plan to 'modernize childcare for Ontario'

[Inspired by Reggio]

For those of us who are living in Ontario ~ thought I would share that the Liberals have released a 'discussion paper' on 'Modernizing Childcare in Ontario' which goes over short term and long term plans and goals on where to head with childcare now that we have Full Day Early Learning rolling out and due to be fully complete by 2015 ~ it is an interesting read only 15 pages so thought I would share for those who want their voice hear ~ they are asking for public feedback from now until September 24th

More information on how to have your voice heard here..

http://news.ontario.ca/edu/en/2012/06/making-child-care-work-for-families.html

and

read the PDF of the paper here

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/childcare/Modernizing_Child_Ca re.pdf

For those who like the Coles notes version - I would pay closest attention to page 13 cause that is the part that refers to those of us who are offering 'unregulated home childcare' ;)

They want feedback on the following specific to us so let your voices be HEARD before we wind up 'regulated' as the only option cause as you may or may not know there are loud advocates pushing for 'only regulation' as an option to increase quality childcare for Ontario's children and families ... so if this is not something that WE want we need to make sure our voices are louder and clearer that we are perfectly capable of providing quality childcare without a license and let them know what WE want to level the playing field and make sure that families have CHOICE in childcare settings and options!


To support the modernization of the current legislative framework,
the government seeks your feedback on the following key questions:
✦✦ How should standards be updated to improve health, safety and overall quality in child care?
✦✦ How can the government reduce duplication and overlap in requirements for licensed child care providers?
✦✦ How can the government more effectively harmonize standards across legislation as well as regulatory requirements in child care (e.g., numbers/ages of children in licensed vs. unlicensed home care, clarification of programs that do and do not require licences)?
✦✦ As the government looks to deliver on the commitment to provide on-site after-school programs for six-to-12-year-olds, should we consider a new licensing category for older children that builds on
the strengths of a recreation program model (e.g., different program requirements for older children, participation in recreation-focused programs)?
✦✦ How could new licensing approaches support home- and centrebased care in smaller, rural and remote communities (e.g., permitting home-based providers to care for more children where there is more than one provider, providing greater flexibility for family or mixed age groupings and space configurations)?
✦✦ How can the government foster quality in informal home-based child care?

[Judy Trickett]

I commented. They likely won't listen. The government has an agenda and they typically carry that out despite what the general public has to say.

I can honestly see all home daycare licensed within the next 5-10 years. And when that happens I also forecast a home daycare SHORTAGE because lots of dcproviders are not going to want to be under the government's thumb with their stupid rules - most of which do NOT make sense.

[Inspired by Reggio]

I hear ya ~ fact of the matter remains that based on the last Stat Canada for childcare only 20% of children are in regulated settings that means that 80% of Canadian families CHOOSE to use unregulated care for one reason or another which also means there are MORE of us to advocate for keeping CHOICE for parents .... so if we stand together and strong with a united voice that we can offer quality care without being under an 'agency regulation' and if parents using informal self regulated childcare options stand tall and say PROTECT OUR CHOICE our VOTING VOICE should carry an impact!

[playfelt]

Back in 2001 there was a home childcare conference held here in Ottawa. We had just moved back to Ottawa after being away for 7 years and it was great to reconnect with people too. At that time they introduced the first pilot module for the family caregiver educational program that is now I think is now 3-4 modules long. We also had a long open discussion time on changes in daycare and provincial proposals and some of what is being proposed now is what was open for discussion then so things sure don't move very fast sometimes.

I am so glad that I am nearing the end of my career rather than just starting or worse in the middle of it and used to the freedom to do my own thing - there is a reason I am not with an agency. It will for sure push many seasoned experienced caregivers out of the business and make it harder for those wanting to get started.

In fairness I get that they feel the need to regulate and have some sort of conformity but at the same time there is no conformity of parenting style, desire for their children, or children for that matter and that is what makes home daycare so important in that any family can find a caregiver that meets their need for substitute parenting as in has a style like theirs. The loss of that is probably the saddest part of regulation.

[Inspired by Reggio]

....The loss of that is probably the saddest part of regulation.

I spent time in dozens of 'regulated childcare models' over the course of my 17 years and while they were all regulated by the same rules not one was 'the same' as far as the program philosophy / curriculum went not to mention 'quality' and individual service provided... the regulations are minimum standards around health & safety and bare minimum recommendations about what a program should contain (aka access to creative art, physical development both gross and fine, language / literacy, math /etc) but HOW that is offered and if it is EXCEEDED is up to the service provider so there is still room for 'various philosophies' within regulation and the QUALITY of the program varies vastly depending on those administering it regulation does not equate to IDENTICAL options ... just look at the school boards and how VASTLY different one school can be from another and one classroom can be from another even within the same school ... there is LOTS of room for differing philosophy and approaches within the current regulations ;)

I started out with an agency myself and as long as my program met those 'bare standards' I was free to do what I felt prudent for my group and their needs ~ I am no longer with them because I can offer the same level of quality care and program for CHEAPER to the clients while making MORE income for myself by cutting out that middle man and my CLIENTS REGULATE ME because they are the ones who are here day in and day out to see my program and how their children are thriving ;)

I am not an advocate for mandatory 'regulation' because it drives up the cost of service due to having more 'middle man' inspecting and supervising those overseeing and supervising us and so forth without IMO adding any TRUE value to the service on the front line not to mention the redundant paperwork and stupid practices around said paperwork that do not really aid in 'quality' to the children on the front line taking up valuable time of front line staff that should be spent supporting the children and families they serve ~ my biggest fear about mandatory regulation would be that it is going to drive up the cost to parents who can 'afford' to pay full fees and drive up the need for subsidy for the rest increase our tax dollar allocation for 'childcare' .... so in the end home care costs as much as 'centre' care while LOWERING our wages and giving us less to work with in our programs just like in centre care ... if my 'revenue' was lowered by $10/child/day due to the agency taking a cut to cover their 'costs' of payroll and rent for their offices and so forth than it goes to reason that I would either have to reduce my expenses by that much and stop offering 'high end foods / field trips / as much consumable creative art / sensory / cooking for the kids OR end up working for less than minimum wage and well sorry but that is not going to happen ~ which means cut in SERVICE to my clients and how is that creating an INCREASE in QUALITY care to them?