PART II:
A NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR ASSURING QUALITY IN CHILD CARE
Partners in Assuring Quality
|
In Part I of this paper, we concluded that Canada's children need a child care system
that is based on a foundation of quality. We will now consider a strategy for assuring
that quality.
Although government roles in assuring quality in child care are very important, governments are only one of the partners. Consider for a moment the public school system. Governments, universities, school trustees, parental advisory groups, professional teachers' organizations, parents of students and teachers all have a role in assuring quality education. Communities, through local school boards, establish priorities based on the needs of their children, such as breakfast programs, English as a second language, or French immersion. |
| ![]() |
The Canadian Child Care Federation, in the National Statement on Quality Child Care, states that: "Quality child care serves the best interests of children and families in a partnership of parents, professionally-trained care providers, all levels of governments, training institutions, and provincial/territorial/national organizations who carry out complementary responsibilities."
Quality is assured by all the partners through gradual processes of planning administration, training, monitoring, advice and support. 11 There need to be checks and balances at all levels. For quality to be assured, all of the roles must be acknowledged, co-ordinated and supported.
Provincial/Territorial Governments
|
They can assure quality by:
Why is this important? Regulations are designed to ensure that measurable standards for service delivery are adhered to. Although regulations alone cannot assure quality, they can set the stage. Research in the United States found that as state standards increased, the quality of child care programs also increased. 12
| |||||
|
Many parents believe that it is governments' role to assure quality in the regulated
child care sector and therefore assume that a provincial/territorial child care licence
means that a child care program will meet the needs of their children.
What do we have now? In reality, licensing requirements often reflect only minimal standards which, according to Gillian Doherty, "do not extend beyond the level of basic health and safety provisions in other words, a level intended simply to ensure that the service does not harm a child."
|
|
Standards for administration, facilities, health, safety, programs and training vary
widely across Canada. A few examples:
|
|||
|
Even the "best" regulations can slip to good intentions if they are not effectively monitored and enforced. Currently, the implementation of regulations through monitoring and enforcement varies significantly across Canada. Of particular concern are the inconsistencies around frequency of inspections, monitoring procedures, the training of inspectors, the number of government departments involved and disciplinary actions for non-compliance. In an informal survey conducted by the CCCF, 68 per cent of child care respondents stated that the monitoring of programs in their province/territory was inadequate. Recent government reports from Ontario (1990) and Alberta (1994) address similar monitoring and enforcement concerns. |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() |