Opinion: Alberta's tired parents need universal child care
Author of the article: Dr. Sabrina Eliason
Publishing date:May 08, 2021 •
Publishing date:May 08, 2021 •
Canada's Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland talks to families virtually in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, April 21, 2021. PHOTO BY BLAIR GABLE /REUTERS
The parents of Alberta are tired.
I hear it in the stories parents tell me in my medical practice. I see it when I look in the mirror.
COVID-19: Alberta launching new vaccination campaign to get province back to normal
The parents of Alberta are the ones working frontline jobs in health-care facilities and retail businesses. We’re the daycare educators, the cleaners, the delivery people, and the grocery store workers. We’re the ones working full-time in makeshift home offices while looking after children on isolation or quarantine or online school. Some of us haven’t received the vaccine and some of us have.
Some of us have quit our jobs to stay at home with our children and some of us have lost our jobs. Some of us feel we’ve heard too much about “the virus,” and some of us are unsure about who or what to believe. We are feeling isolated, and alone. We are uncertain about the future for our children, especially in Alberta.
There is solid evidence that investing in affordable, universally accessible child care is good for the long-term economy and good for children. It expands the labour force by improving women’s labour participation, promotes gender equality, and, in the case of non-profit child-care centres, it improves developmental outcomes.
Our province’s lack of support for the recent federal proposal for universal child care, and recent elimination of the $25-a-day child-care program, or Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) Innovation, are examples of short-sighted economic policy. A universal child-care program is an opportunity to enhance early child learning, accessibility for children with disabilities, and inclusion for children of all social and economic backgrounds. Our government is saying “no” to that.
The claims that for-profit child care promotes innovation, entrepreneurship and flexibility are fallible and are outweighed by the costs on child development. For-profit child-care centres aim to maximize profit by paying lower wages, maximizing child-to staff ratios and charging higher fees to parents. This is a setup for higher staff turnover and greater inconsistency in the quality of caregiving. This has a negative effect on children. Our provincial vision for child care puts a price-tag on early child development that many parents can’t afford.
Another burden our government has placed on parents is the cost of early intervention and supports for children with disabilities. In the last two years, there have been significant reductions in the public funding of interventions for children. The most notable cuts have been in reductions to Program Unit Funding (PUF) and in the elimination of Regional Collaborative Service Delivery (RCSD).
PUF supports early intervention in preschool children who have medical, learning or cognitive issues. Fewer children have been able to access these supports with recent changes to this program. RCSD ensured children and youth with disabilities had interventions such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, mental health therapy and physical therapy in their school. It was a collaborative approach that supported the accessibility, and affordability of developmental interventions — and it doesn’t exist anymore. Children with disabilities in Alberta are being left behind.
Most families aren’t able to afford the interventions they were previously provided through PUF or RCSD. These parents are feeling angry, worried and helpless. The teachers and school teams helping these children are still out there too. They’re being expected to do more with less — less support, less funding, less morale.
The parents of Alberta are the working-age demographic who will pull our economy out of this recession. We are raising the next generation of Albertans isolated from aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas and our usual neighbourhood babysitters. We are investing our energy in our children and our work, and yet we’re feeling like it’s not enough to secure the future our children deserve.
The parents of Alberta are tired. We need Albertans to support universal child care, early intervention and supports for children with disabilities. We need the help of the media to tell our stories. We need voters to tell their MLAs to prioritize the health and development of all children, not just the ones who can afford it. The parents of Alberta are vital to the recovery of our province after this pandemic and we need the voices of Albertans, right now, to help us secure the best possible future for our children.
Dr. Sabrina Eliason is a developmental pediatrician at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton. She is also a mother of two young children.
The parents of Alberta are tired.
I hear it in the stories parents tell me in my medical practice. I see it when I look in the mirror.
COVID-19: Alberta launching new vaccination campaign to get province back to normal
The parents of Alberta are the ones working frontline jobs in health-care facilities and retail businesses. We’re the daycare educators, the cleaners, the delivery people, and the grocery store workers. We’re the ones working full-time in makeshift home offices while looking after children on isolation or quarantine or online school. Some of us haven’t received the vaccine and some of us have.
Some of us have quit our jobs to stay at home with our children and some of us have lost our jobs. Some of us feel we’ve heard too much about “the virus,” and some of us are unsure about who or what to believe. We are feeling isolated, and alone. We are uncertain about the future for our children, especially in Alberta.
There is solid evidence that investing in affordable, universally accessible child care is good for the long-term economy and good for children. It expands the labour force by improving women’s labour participation, promotes gender equality, and, in the case of non-profit child-care centres, it improves developmental outcomes.
Our province’s lack of support for the recent federal proposal for universal child care, and recent elimination of the $25-a-day child-care program, or Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) Innovation, are examples of short-sighted economic policy. A universal child-care program is an opportunity to enhance early child learning, accessibility for children with disabilities, and inclusion for children of all social and economic backgrounds. Our government is saying “no” to that.
The claims that for-profit child care promotes innovation, entrepreneurship and flexibility are fallible and are outweighed by the costs on child development. For-profit child-care centres aim to maximize profit by paying lower wages, maximizing child-to staff ratios and charging higher fees to parents. This is a setup for higher staff turnover and greater inconsistency in the quality of caregiving. This has a negative effect on children. Our provincial vision for child care puts a price-tag on early child development that many parents can’t afford.
Another burden our government has placed on parents is the cost of early intervention and supports for children with disabilities. In the last two years, there have been significant reductions in the public funding of interventions for children. The most notable cuts have been in reductions to Program Unit Funding (PUF) and in the elimination of Regional Collaborative Service Delivery (RCSD).
PUF supports early intervention in preschool children who have medical, learning or cognitive issues. Fewer children have been able to access these supports with recent changes to this program. RCSD ensured children and youth with disabilities had interventions such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, mental health therapy and physical therapy in their school. It was a collaborative approach that supported the accessibility, and affordability of developmental interventions — and it doesn’t exist anymore. Children with disabilities in Alberta are being left behind.
Most families aren’t able to afford the interventions they were previously provided through PUF or RCSD. These parents are feeling angry, worried and helpless. The teachers and school teams helping these children are still out there too. They’re being expected to do more with less — less support, less funding, less morale.
The parents of Alberta are the working-age demographic who will pull our economy out of this recession. We are raising the next generation of Albertans isolated from aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas and our usual neighbourhood babysitters. We are investing our energy in our children and our work, and yet we’re feeling like it’s not enough to secure the future our children deserve.
The parents of Alberta are tired. We need Albertans to support universal child care, early intervention and supports for children with disabilities. We need the help of the media to tell our stories. We need voters to tell their MLAs to prioritize the health and development of all children, not just the ones who can afford it. The parents of Alberta are vital to the recovery of our province after this pandemic and we need the voices of Albertans, right now, to help us secure the best possible future for our children.
Dr. Sabrina Eliason is a developmental pediatrician at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton. She is also a mother of two young children.
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