FROLITICKS

Providing adequate child care has been a major issue in both countries.  From an economic point of view and in terms of economic growth, the continued participation of women in the labour market is recognized as being extremely important.  A 2019 Washington Post article reported that in 1990, 74 percent of American women between the ages of 25 and 54 either had a job or were looking for one, the sixth-highest rate among 22 rich countries.  By 2017, though, that number had risen to 75 percent, by then the fourth-lowest share among the same group of wealthy nations.  In Canada, statistics have shown that the participation of women in the labour force has consistantly been well above 60 percent in recent decades.  There are more working couples than ever, especially now that more women have chosen professional careers and many are needed in numerous labour-intensive sectors such as in health care, education, retail and the services.  Interestingly, a Statistics Canada study in 2019, noted that approximately 60 percent of children aged 0 to 5 years were participating in a formal or informal type of child care arrangement.

In order to support women’s participation, numerous jurisdictions have taken measures to reduce the costs of child care.  In both countries, child care is a direct responsibility of the states and provinces, with support funding often provided by the federal governments.  In 2003, the Canadian federal government announced a $1-billion, multiyear investment proposal in child care, requiring negotiations with the provinces to eventually establish a national child care program.  Consequently, Canada recently introduced a program to subsidize universal child care, in due course providing an average fee of 10 dollar-a-day child care by 2025-26 to all Canadian families.  During the pandemic in the U.S., there was temporary relief to keep the industry afloat.  The federal government made $24 billion available to the states.  Many providers were given thousands of dollars a month, depending on their size, which they used to pay for expenses, the biggest of which was wages.

Running a child care business has long been a very challenging math problem.  Many providers can barely afford to operate, yet many parents cannot afford to pay more.  It has also become harder to recruit child-care workers, one of the lowest-paying jobs in both countries.  With the termination of pandemic federal funding, some states, including a few led by Republicans, have invested state funds to make up for the pursuant loss of federal funds.  For example, this year Vermont will start to spend $125 million a year for large expansions in eligibility for subsidies for low-income families, and Kentucky spent $50 million on grants after federal funds expired.  Reportedly, the Biden administration has asked Congress for $16 billion for one year of additional funding for child care.  Apparently, a group of Democratic senators support it.  However, it is unlikely that it would get the Republican approval needed to pass.

There are additional considerations that have a direct impact on the current use of child care.  During the pandemic, many women began working from home.  Known as remote work, this has permitted some parents to increasingly provide home-based child care, further reducing their family costs and reliance on outside services.  In addition, the current high inflation has had a direct impact on the costs of running a child care operation, hitting the bottom line of many businesses.  Expenses include payroll, utilities, mortgage payments, food and supplies.  Like everyone, low-paid child-care workers have been affected by high inflation, and the result is a greater turnover rate among such workers.

While there are always debates over whether home care or external child care are more effective regarding a child’s early development, the fact is that the provision of quality child care is considered an essential element of a modern economy and its growth.  Those providing child care services are facing very difficult circumstances, everything from increasing costs to a shortage of qualified child-care workers.  In particular, the pay and working conditions for such workers, many qualified in early learning, has to be improved.  It is inexcusable that a society doesn’t adequately support those responsible for caring for our children, be they parents or child-care workers.  This is certainly one of the most crucial issues of our decade.