KEY FINDINGS Early childhood education and care in...

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INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF REGULATED CHILD CARE SPACES There was a relatively sizeable increase in spaces compared to much of the past decade. There were 1,349,827 regulated spaces for 0-12 year olds Canada-wide in 2016. Spaces include: 636,157 full and part day centre spaces for 0-5 year olds, 570,022 centre spaces for school-age children to 12 years; 143,647 0-12 year olds in regulated family (home) child care. The net increase in regulated child care spaces 2014-2016 was 148,819 spaces in centres and regulated home child care for 0-12 year olds. Although 2012-2014 had a more substantial increase (214,166 spaces), the 2014-2016 increase is notable when compared to the last 15 years. Between 2014 and 2016 1 , centre spaces for 0-5 year olds 2 grew by 92,996 while the supply of school-age spaces (usually for children 6 to 12 years) grew by 57,489; regulated home child care decreased slightly, by 1,666. Spaces for 0-12 year olds increased in almost every province/territory, with Ontario accounting for 48% of the Canada-wide increase and Quebec accounting for 41%. COVERAGE: PERCENT OF CHILDREN FOR WHOM THERE IS A REGULATED PART OR FULL DAY CHILD CARE CENTRE SPACE Coverage for 0-5 year olds increased in most provinces/ territories between 2014 and 2016. For Canada as a whole, this increase was high compared to most previous years. There were enough centre spaces for 28.9% of 0-5 year olds in centres part and full day, 4.8% higher than the 24.1% coverage for the same age group in 2014. Coverage for 0-5 year olds in centre spaces ranged from a high of 39.4% in Prince Edward Island to a low of 13.7% in Saskatchewan. The relatively high increase in coverage between 2014 and 2016 can be attributed to the interplay between the relatively substantial increase in number of spaces and a modest reduction in the number of children aged 0-5 years. (a decrease of about 55,000 children). There were enough regulated spaces (including centres and home child care) to cover 27.2% of 0-12 year olds, with provincial/territorial variation ranging from 8.4% (Saskatchewan) to 55.1% (Quebec). Coverage for 0-12 year olds increased from 24.1% in 2014. 1 Figures for number of spaces in centres represents licensed capacity, not enrolment, which is not available. 2 Note that home child care is not included in the calculations for coverage for 0-5 year olds, as age break downs are not usually available in home child care. Early childhood education and care in Canada 2016 This presents some of the key findings from Early childhood education and care in Canada 2016, the Childcare Resource and Research Unit’s 11th cross-Canada data-based report on early childhood education and child care (ECEC). This report, together with previous editions, allows examinations of ECEC and related programs over the past 25 years. APRIL 2018 KEY FINDINGS

Transcript of KEY FINDINGS Early childhood education and care in...

1 Childcare Resource and Research Unit Key Findings Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada • 2016

INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF REGULATED CHILD CARE SPACES

• Therewasarelativelysizeableincreaseinspacescomparedtomuchofthepastdecade.

• Therewere1,349,827regulatedspacesfor0-12yearoldsCanada-widein2016.

• Spacesinclude:636,157fullandpartdaycentrespacesfor0-5yearolds,570,022centrespacesforschool-agechildrento12years;143,6470-12yearoldsinregulatedfamily(home)childcare.

• Thenetincreaseinregulatedchildcarespaces2014-2016was148,819spacesincentresandregulatedhomechildcarefor0-12yearolds.

• Although2012-2014hadamoresubstantialincrease(214,166spaces),the2014-2016increaseisnotablewhencomparedtothelast15years.

• Between2014and20161,centrespacesfor0-5yearolds2grewby92,996whilethesupplyofschool-agespaces(usuallyforchildren6to12years)grewby57,489;regulatedhomechildcaredecreasedslightly,by1,666.

• Spacesfor0-12yearoldsincreasedinalmosteveryprovince/territory,withOntarioaccountingfor48%oftheCanada-wideincreaseandQuebecaccountingfor41%.

COVERAGE: PERCENT OF CHILDREN FOR WHOM THERE IS A REGULATED PART OR FULL DAY CHILD CARE CENTRE SPACE

• Coveragefor0-5yearoldsincreasedinmostprovinces/territoriesbetween2014and2016.ForCanadaasawhole,thisincreasewashighcomparedtomostpreviousyears.

• Therewereenoughcentrespacesfor28.9%of0-5yearoldsincentrespartandfullday,4.8%higherthanthe24.1%coverageforthesameagegroupin2014.

• Coveragefor0-5yearoldsincentrespacesrangedfromahighof39.4%inPrinceEdwardIslandtoalowof13.7%inSaskatchewan.

• Therelativelyhighincreaseincoveragebetween2014and2016canbeattributedtotheinterplaybetweentherelativelysubstantialincreaseinnumberofspacesandamodestreductioninthenumberofchildrenaged0-5years.(adecreaseofabout55,000children).

• Therewereenoughregulatedspaces(includingcentresandhomechildcare)tocover27.2%of0-12yearolds,withprovincial/territorialvariationrangingfrom8.4%(Saskatchewan)to55.1%(Quebec).Coveragefor0-12yearoldsincreasedfrom24.1%in2014.

1Figuresfornumberofspacesincentresrepresentslicensedcapacity,notenrolment,whichisnotavailable.2Notethathomechildcareisnotincludedinthecalculationsforcoveragefor0-5yearolds,asagebreakdownsarenotusuallyavailableinhomechildcare.

Early childhood educationand care in Canada 2016

ThispresentssomeofthekeyfindingsfromEarly childhood education and care in Canada 2016,theChildcareResourceand

ResearchUnit’s11thcross-Canadadata-basedreportonearlychildhoodeducationandchildcare(ECEC).Thisreport,

togetherwithpreviouseditions,allowsexaminationsofECECandrelatedprogramsoverthepast25years.

APR

IL2018KEY FINDINGS

2 Childcare Resource and Research Unit Key Findings Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada • 2016

PARENT FEES

• Medianparentfeesforregulatedchildcare(centresandregulatedhomechildcarecombined)forCanada’slargestcitiesrangedfromalowof$183/monthinanumberofQuebeccities(infant,toddler,preschooler)toahighof$1,758/month(infant),$1,354/month(toddler),$1,212/month(preschooler)inTorontoin2017.

• In2017,withtheexceptionofQuebeccitiesandWinnipeg,allcitiesincludedhadparentfeeshigherthan$700/monthforaninfant.

• AllcitiesexceptCharlottetown,Quebeccities,WinnipegandReginahadtoddlerfeeshigherthan$700/monthandallcitiesexceptCharlottetown,St.John,allQuebeccities,WinnipegandReginahadpreschool-agefeeshigherthan$700/month.

• Medianparentfeesgenerallywentupbetween2016and2017,althoughseveralcitiesshowedsmalldrops.

• Parentfeesweresubstantiallylowerincitiesinthethreeprovincesthatsetparentfeesprovincially,mostnotablyinQuebecbutalsoManitobaandPrinceEdwardIsland.

AUSPICE IN REGULATED CHILD CARE

• In2016,thepercentofspacesoperatedonafor-profitbasisremainedat30%Canada-wide,althoughthepercentincreasedinsomejurisdictionsanddroppedinothers.

• Since2006,thepercentofcentrechildcarespacesoperatedonafor-profitbasishasbeensteadilyincreasing,reachingtheall-timehighof30%in2014.

• Thereisconsiderablevariationamongprovinces/territoriesonthis,rangingfromalowof0%ofspacesoperatedfor-profittoahighof72%operatedfor-profit.

• Inthesevenjurisdictionsinwhichdataisbrokendownintopartdayandfullday,thepercentoffulldayspacesoperatedfor-profitwasconsiderablyhigherthanthepercentofpartdayspacesoperatedfor-profit.Thepercentoftotalfulldayspacesthatwereoperatedfor-profitrangedfrom5%inManitobato52%inQuebecto79%ofNewfoundlandandLabrador’stotalfulldayspacesoperatedonafor-profitbasis.

NUMBER OF CHILDREN

• Canada-wide,therewere2,202,000children0-5yearsofage,adropofabout55,000inthatagecohortbetweenthe2014and2016editionsofECEC in Canada(rounded).

• Thesizeofthe0-5cohortdroppedinalmostallprovinces/territoriesbetweenthe2014and2016editions(usuallynotsubstantially).

NUMBER OF CHILDREN WITH EMPLOYED MOTHERS

• Therewere1,389,0000-5yearoldsand1,848,0006-12yearoldsinCanadaasawholewithemployedmothersinthe2016data(rounded).

• Althoughthenumberofchildrenwithemployedmothershasfluctuatedovertheyears,the2016numbersarequitesimilartothosein1995.

• Thenumberofchildrenwithemployedmothersisafactorofbothmothers’employmentrate(whichhasincreasedovertheyears)andthenumberofchildrenineachagecohort(whichhasfluctuated).

MOTHERS’ EMPLOYMENT RATE

• In2016,theemploymentrateofmotherswithyoungestchildrenaged0-2was71%and77%forthosewith3-5year-olds,comparedto70%with0-2year-oldsand77%for3-5yearoldsin2014.

• Lookingback20years,in1998,theemploymentrateofmotherswas65%forthosewhoseyoungestchildwas0-2and71%forthosewitha3-5yearold.

KEY FINDINGS

3 Childcare Resource and Research Unit Key Findings Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada • 2016

• Severalprovinces/territoriesnowrequireearlychildhoodspecializationforkindergartenteachers:PrinceEdwardIsland,Quebec,andOntario(whereaclassroomteamincludesanearlychildhoodeducator).NWTacceptsatwoyearearlychildhooddiplomaasaqualificationforkindergartenteachingandNovaScotia’snewprogramforfouryearoldsisstaffedbyearlychildhoodeducators.

SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS OF REGULATED CHILD CARE

• Inninejurisdictions,regulatedchildcareisnowundertheaegisofaneducationdepartment,withkindergarteninthesamedepartment.

• Mostjurisdictionsnowhaveacurriculumframeworkforregulatedchildcare;inallcases,thisisadifferentcurriculumframeworkfromthatusedinkindergarten.

• Alljurisdictionsusealicensingapproachtoregulatedchildcare.Severaldonotrequirepartdayprograms(nurseryschoolsorpreschools)tobelicensed;severalexcludesomeotherservicesfromlicensingrequirements.

• Allprovinces/territoriesofferbothcentre-basedchildcareforinfantsthroughschool-agechildrenuptoage12andregulatedfamily(home)childcare.

• Homechildcaremaybeindividuallylicensedoroperateunderanagencymodel.

• Centredirectorsareusuallyrequiredtohaveatleastaoneortwoyearearlychildhoodeducationdiplomabutseveraljurisdictionsdonotrequiretrainingforcentredirectors.

• Noneofthejurisdictionsrequiresallstaffinchildcarecentrestohavepost-secondarytraininginearlychildhoodeducation.However,severaljurisdictionsincreasedrequiredqualifications2014-2016.

• Bythespringof2018,allprovinces/territoriesexceptQuebechadcompletednegotiatedagreementswiththefederalgovernmentbasedontheMulti-lateralEarlyLearningandChildCareFramework.

April2018

PUBLIC SPENDING ALLOCATIONS FOR CHILD CARE

• TotalbudgetallocationsforchildcareinCanada(provinces/territoriestotal)reached$4.6billioninthe2015-2016fiscalyear.ThisrepresentedaCanada-wideincreaseof$323millionfrom2013-2014(inunadjusteddollars).

• Quebec’sallocationscontinuedtorepresentasubstantialproportionoftotalCanada-widechildcaredollars.Quebec’schildcarespendingaccountsfor56%oftheCanada-widetotal,whileQuebecrepresents23%ofCanada’stotalpopulation.

• CalculatingpublicspendingperregulatedspaceshowstheCanada-wideaveragetobeessentiallystatic,at$3,461perspacein2016and$3,558perspacein2014.Inmostjurisdictions,therewaslittlechangeinthisexceptinNewfoundlandandLabrador,wherespendingperspaceincreasedsignificantly.Notethatthiscalculationisbasedontotalprovincial/territorialspendingonregulatedchildcareandtotalnumberofchildren,notactualpublicspendingperspace.

SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS OF KINDERGARTEN

• Eightprovinces/territoriesprovidefullschool-daykindergartenprogramsforallfiveyearolds.

• InadditiontoOntario’sprovisionoffulldaykindergartenforallfouryearolds,NovaScotiaisphasinginfulldaykindergartenforallfouryearoldsandQuebecisincreasingprovisionofkindergartenforfouryearoldswithafocusonthosewhoarevulnerable,whileotherjurisdictionsmayprovidesomekindergartenforfouryearolds.Saskatchewanprovidesapre-kprogramtargetedtodisadvantagedthreeandfouryearolds.

KEY FINDINGS

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All CRRU publications including this document may be downloaded from the website at childcarecanada.org.

The Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) is a policy research institute focused on early childhood education and child care (ECEC) and family policy. CRRU has a commitment to a universal, high quality, publicly-funded, inclusive ECEC system and collaborates with other researchers, NGOs, advocacy groups and government policy makers on ECEC and family policy. One of CRRU’s basic operating premises is that public policy should be based on the best possible information about policy and practice available from multidisciplinary research and policy analysis.

Revised May 31, 2018