Provincial Budget 2008: "Major Disappointment" |
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CCCM media release: Winnipeg, 9 Apr 08
"With just $5 million in new spending for childcare, Manitobans still face a crisis of high fees, low access, compromised quality and staff exploitation," says Susan Prentice, of the Child Care Coalition.
Government Lacks a Plan
Thirteen months ago, the first and only Five Year plan ended. Since then, the province has been without a guiding framework. There are no targets for growth in spaces, and little apparent will to move toward public funding and universal access.
Services Are Limited; Growth At Glacial Pace
Manitoba has few regulated childcare services. Just 14.5 percent of theprovince's children age 0-12 have access to a childcare space. The number of licensed family childcare homes and spaces has actually fallen. Only 33 new centres opened under the 2002 - 2007 Five Year Plan.
Childcare is Expensive
Full-fee paying parents, who make the up the majority of users, are still paying fees that can be as high as $7,280/year for an infant. While lower than many Canadian jurisdictions, the fees are still too high for most modest and low-income parents. The subsidy system is still very restrictive, requiring parents to be well-below the Low-Income Cut-off (the 'poverty line') to receive the maximum fee subsidy.
Quality is Compromised/Staff are Exploited
One third of the province's centres operate with an exemption to their license, due to inability to recruit and retain trained staff, causing quality of care to suffer. Human Resources professionals estimate market wages for early educators should be 20 - 25 percent higher than current wages. The province's announced "new training and recruitment" fund would seem to have little chance of success without significant improvements to funding.
Media release in pdf.
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Last Updated on Monday, 01 December 2008 09:23 |