Govt urged to spend more on childcare

Press, 30 March 1985, Page 12

Govt urged to spend more on childcare

OLIVER RIDDELL

By

in Wellington

Spending more money on pre-school childcare is being urged on the Government by the Social Advisory Council in a major report on childcare services.

This report was commissioned by the Government to identify the impacts of childcare services and the opportunities for them.

The report said childcare services should get Government funding on a more equitable basis with other early childcare and education services, such as kindergartens and playcentres. While kindergartens and playcentres received substantial financial help through the Education Department, the main form of Government funding for childcare centres was a subsidy for low-income parents paid by the Social Welfare Department. The same department also provided assistance in the form of subsidies for trained staff, training of supervisors, and the expenses of family day-care programmes.

But Government help to childcare centres was still inequitable compared with the funds allocated to kindergartens and playcentres, the report said. It called for the costs of quality childcare to be met by the Government, with some parental contribution where possible. It gave four reasons for this;

• To recognise the benefits of childcare to society.

© To enhance the development of children, including the promotion of cultural identity and the social integration of children with disabilities.

© To support families. • To facilitate the participation of women in the

workforce and in society generally.

Equity in childcare funding would not mean that all costs faced by childcare services would be met by the Government, the report said, and a contribution from parents would be required where possible. Provision of: high-quality childcare was expensive, the main cost being appropriate salaries for trained staff. Limited resources had contributed to a lack of trained staff in some centres, which could not afford to pay the salaries needed.

Other major costs, the report said, included providing for training, costs of establishment, and the maintenance of buildings and equipment. However, the requirement that parents contribute towards the cost of a service that they were using ought not to deny any family the right to use a desired form of childcare service.

The report did not indicate how much more this superior level of funding might cost. Development of childcare services should be a key element in the Government’s policies for the family. Childcare services had changed from being ad hoc services used only by families in extreme need into being an integral part of everyday life for many families, and was likely to remain so.

The Minister of Social Welfare, Mrs Hercus, said the report was timely as the demand for childcare services had grown enormously in recent years. “This report lays a lot of bogies to rest,” she said. “It concludes that not only is good-quality childcare not detrimental to children and their families but it can be very beneficial.”