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Investing in the future: Building better child care

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Chapter 5 of 'Dollars and democracy: Canadians pay the price of privatization. CUPE's 2001 annual report on privatization'
Author: 
Canadian Union of Public Employees
Format: 
Report
Publication Date: 
22 Mar 2001
AVAILABILITY

Available in print for order (see SOURCE) and online for download.

Excerpt from the report highlights:

A growing body of undisputed evidence shows non-profit child care consistently delivers much higher quality care than private, for-profit providers. Study after study demonstrates the widespread social and economic benefits of quality child care. Yet the Canadian government persists in breaking its promise for a national, public child care program. Québec's public program and new innovations in British Columbia are models of accessible, high quality care. Meanwhile, Alberta and Ontario are venturing ever further down the for-profit road. Canada's patchwork system means quality of care suffers when there's no coherent plan and inadequate funding. A recent national study shows the links between poor quality and for-profit care. The highest quality of care is found in not-for-profit facilities with better paid staff, with quality also linked to higher funding levels and at least two years of specialized staff training.