EXCERPTS
Did you know that the child care providers being recognized this
month — as part of Child Care Month — are Early Childhood Educators
whose average salary is $13.50 per hour?
This does not reflect
their education or the responsibility of caring for children and
supporting families. The result is a shortage of these skilled
professionals and fewer child care spaces available to families.
According
to the proclamation, everyone from childcare providers, parents and
government to business, and Aboriginal communities all share a
commitment to ensuring that quality child care spaces are available for
families.
The proclamation also states that the BC Government is
committed to providing safe, affordable, culturally relevant and high
quality child care options for families.
Clearly there is much
work to be done by the provincial government to ensure that the reality
for children, families and child care providers both in licensed
programs and family child care homes reflects the government's
proclamations.
If Premier Christy Clark is putting "Families
First", let this be the year the provincial budget reflects the needs of
families and child care providers.
Take action
- If
you are a parent looking for child care or who have to leave their
child care arrangement because of unaffordable fees, contact the
Premier's office at http://www.christyclark.ca. - If you are a
child care provider make sure parents using your care are informed about
your level of education, responsibility, years of experience and the
average salary of the staff at the centre. - If you are a child care provider, take time to celebrate your work, each other and the families who count on you every day.
- Let
this be the month and the year that the British Columbia government
follows the lead from other Canadian provinces to ensure affordable,
quality child care provided by child care providers who are adequately
compensated for their valuable work.
- reprinted from the Nelson Daily