From patchwork to framework : Child care strategy for Canada

The past and current CCAAC Board members, sister organizations and the CCAAC’s sectoral partners of the Council of Child Care Advocates and their many volunteers who played a key hands on role in distributing the discussion paper — Seeing and Solving the Child Care Crisis: Options for Progress — and organizing and hosting regional consultations. [...] The CCAAC works for: • child care as a cornerstone of progressive family policies; • the right of all children to access a child care system supported by public funds; • a child care system that is comprehensive, inclusive, accessible, affordable, high quality and non-profit; and • a range of child care services for children from birth to 12 years. [...] To achieve our goals, CCAAC: • initiates activities and mobilizes public support for a pan-Canadian child care system; • develops policy solutions to child care issues; present briefs and submissions to elected representatives and governments; • partners in initiatives to raise the public profile of child care as a political issue and to promote broad support for our vision for child care; and • w [...] Overview From Patchwork to Framework: A Child Care Strategy for Canada • places child care within the current Canadian context; • describes the benefits to Canada of a comprehensive and coherent child care strategy; • outlines a 15-year legislative and funding strategy for a high quality, universally accessible, accountable child care system; and • includes policies to help parents balance work an [...] The paper applied the policy lessons of the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) study on early learning and child care services1 to Canada and proposed alternatives for consideration based on the OECD findings.