$10-a-Day for All
Our Making Mothers Matter research data, published in our A Whole Life report, tells a tale of two child cares in BC.
While the fantastic news is that $10-a-day child care is life-changing, there is also an alarming tale here. Our government promised a $10-a-day child care system in 2018 but there is no coherent and functional 'system' in sight leaving many low-income families shut out.
A universal $10-a-day child care system is an extremely impactful poverty reduction tool to tackle family poverty in BC.
Our data reveals a positive correlation between access to $10 a Day ChildCareBC spaces and improved health, well-being, and economic outcomes for low-income, lone mothers across the province. Our research participants praised the high quality of child care at $10-a-day centres and valued its positive impact on both their children’s development and the health and well-being of their families.
Economic stability, reduction in round-the-clock gig work, improved health and well-being, and enhanced parenting and family life are some of the benefits these families experienced.
IF they could access one of the limited fully funded spaces spaces available. IF they could beat wait lists and unfair selection.
Our research found that while the BC government promised a $10-a-day child care system, many years later progress towards this goal has faltered and slowed. Our data illustrates that the existing network of spaces has proven inequitable, inaccessible, and incomplete for marginalized low-income lone families in BC.
Today, we have submitted our research report and ten key recommendations to the provincial and federal governments. Our recommendations are a call to action to build on success and fulfill promises to establish a universal $10-a-day child care system in BC.
A system was promised. A universal system to serve the deserving many rather than the lucky few.
For low-income families and all families, we must settle for nothing less.
We need #10aDayforAll. #AllFamiles. #AllChildren. #FinishtheSystem.
Our evidence-based recommendations result from our research and report, A Whole Life: The Impact of $10 a Day Child Care on the Health and Socioeconomic Well-being of Low-Income Lone Mothers in BC.
We respectfully recommend that the Province of BC:
- Transition all interested existing programs to $10-a-day sites to create up to 50,000 fully publicly funded spaces and create a cohesive child care system in BC.
- Prioritize the establishment of new $10 a Day ChildCareBC centres in BC’s child care ‘deserts’.
- Implement an Early Childhood Educator wage grid in BC of at least $30–$40 per hour, depending on qualifications, experience, and years of employment.
- Implement an equity-based approach to ensure marginalized, low-income families have access to $10-a-day spaces.
- Expand the capacity of $10 a Day ChildCareBC centres to provide quality, accessible care for special needs children.
- Ban the collection of waitlist and registration fees at all child care centres in BC.
- Ensure $10-a-day child care better accommodates shift work and the diverse labour market needs of parents and caregivers.
- Establish a ChildCareBC Parent Advisory Council comprised of a diversity of parents and caregivers, including those with lived/ living experience of low income, to provide ongoing input into the development of the $10-a-day child care system.
- Establish public delivery of before- and after-school care using the public school system to address the province-wide shortage of school-age child care spaces.
