Child care "disturbingly politicized, says report on early childhood. (Child And Family).

TORONTO -- Child care must be central to any successful early years' initiatives, which have become disturbingly politicized, says a report by Toronto's Commission on Early Learning and Child Care.

The commission was co-chaired by Charles Coffey, executive vice-president of government and community affairs for RBC Financial Group, and Margaret Norrie McCain, former Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick and one of the authors of the Ontario government's Early Years Study. They described the report as part of a larger effort to raise the profile of Canadian cities as centres of human and economic development.

In Ontario, provincial downloading has meant municipalities have picked up an increasing share of the cost of services for children, ranging from wage subsidies for child care workers to refurbishing playgrounds. More than 70 per cent of Toronto families in the workforce require dependable child care on a regular basis, the report says. Of the 45,000 children enrolled in licensed programs; half are subsidized. More than three-quarters of the subsidies are used by single parents, one-third of whom are Ontario Works recipients.

Provincial government poll "care" and "development," the report says. Care is seen as a parental responsibility with the government intervening only to encourage workforce participation by targeted groups. Ironically, it notes, other provincial initiatives target children for enrichment programs to make up for the inadequate care they receive.

Despite stated support for the recommendations of the Early Years Study, including flexible child care, the province's Early Years Centres are little more than information kiosks, the report says. Rather than building on community capacity, some centres are replacing existing family resource programs. Available funding for community-based programs is based on the ABC principle, or "anything but child care," the report charges.

The report is also critical of the federal Early Childhood Development Initiative, providing $2.2 billion over five years for services aimed at children aged 0 to 6. Only six of Canada's 13 jurisdictions are putting any of the federal money towards child care, the report says.

Stating that no early years' strategy can be successful without child care, the report makes a series of recommendations, including:

* establish a child care partnership modelled on the Supporting Communities Partnership Initiative against homelessness, which would allow municipalities to enter into direct funding agreements with the federal government where provinces do not have a comprehensive approach;

* in the next phase of the Early Childhood Development Initiative require provinces and territories to spend in all four target areas;

* a provincial legislative and funding framework to support early childhood development centres as recommended in the Early Years Study;

* give municipalities and school boards the authority and resources to integrate existing services into a comprehensive, community-responsive early years' system.

The report also recommends that the City of Toronto expand its First Duty model, which integrates existing core child development programs--kindergarten, child care and parenting supports--into one seamless, accessible, community-based service and delivers health, specialized supports and related community and social services onsite.

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