See text below.
EXCERPTS
Parents struggling to make ends meet are one step closer to free child care with the introduction of legislation in the House of Assembly yesterday.
…
The bill was introduced for the Minister of Social Rehabilitation Dale Butler yesterday morning and was titled the Child Day Care Allowance Act 2008.
According to the legislation, which will still have to be read a second time and debated, it seems that a parent or guardian must apply for the allowance and it will be paid directly to those operating home day care facilities and licensed day care centres.
The application and awarding process will be managed by the Director of Financial Assistance who appears to have been given powers under this new act to decide who qualifies and to award the allowances.
Besides being a parent or guardian, the applicant must also reside with and have care and control of the child and have a gross income not exceeding the "maximum prescribed amount". No specific amount was stated in the bill. Finally the person will also: "possesses Bermudian status or is the spouse of a person who possesses Bermudian status and has cohabited in Bermuda with that person for a period not less than three years ending with the date of the application."
The child must also be eligible for the care allowance and in order for the child to qualify they must be under four-years-old and must not have entered primary school.
Finally the Director must receive written confirmation from the operator of the licensed day care centre or home day care centre of the child's registration before awarding the allowance.
Minister Butler was unavailable for comment last night and Shadow Minister of Social Rehabilitation Donte Hunt said he was pleased that steps were taken to bring this service forward, but was concerned about the numbers.
He said: "It's a step in the right direction of course. It's something at this stage that will give people peace of mind. They can say 'hey at least the bill has come to fruition'.
"The cost of child care is astronomical so we have people who have an active interest in this. However, there are no numbers or no indication of numbers."
Mr. Hunt said he did not expect to see a stated level of income, but at least a percentage of their income that parents were spending on child care to qualify them for the allowance.
Free child care was an item promised in the Progressive Labour Party's "Patterns of Progress" election manifesto last year and was also promised in the Throne Speech.
And recently with the debate over the licensing of child care providers who supervise children in their homes, the cost of the service has been hotly debated by parents.
- reprinted from The Royal Gazette