Most Canadian kids under 6 years in some type of non-parental child care.

Arriving in time for the upcoming parliamentary debate on federal child care funding policy, Statistics Canada reports that a growing number of Canadian children aged six months to five years are in some form of non-parental childcare.

Important to the debate is that almost all of the rise in the numbers enrolled in child care centres are accounted for by two provinces, Quebec and Manitoba. Both have programs and funding arrangements that encourage the development of child care centres.

Reports from other provinces indicate that the proportion of children cared for by relatives outside the home increased, while care by non-relatives declined.

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, the report Child care in Canada, shows that in 2002-2003, 54% of children aged six months to five years were in some form of child care, up from 42% in 1994-1995.

Approximately 30% of children are in each of three forms of care: day care centres, care outside the home by a non-relative, and care by a relative either inside or outside the home.

Alexandra Wright Diane Hiebert-Murphy Janet Mirwaldt George Muswaggon

Approximately 30% of children are in each of three forms of care: day care centres, care outside the home by a non-relative, and care by a relative either inside or outside the home. The remaining small proportion includes children in care in their own home with a non-relative or other arrangement. Among the changes noted between 1994-1995 and 2002-2003 are these:

* In 1998-1999 about 53% of children aged 6 to 24 months were cared for by their parents, while 18% of children were in care outside the home with a non-relative, and a further 11% were outside the home with a relative. By 2002-2003, an average 52% of these children were in different types of care.

One of the notable changes was that fewer children under 6 months were in child care and more were in the care of their parents. This change was influenced by amendments to the Employment Insurance Act which increased the combined maternity, parental and sickness leave from 25 to 50 weeks for new parents whose child was born after December 30, 2000.

However, the child care rate for children aged 6 to 11 months also declined in a two year period between 2000-2001 and 2002-2003, from 44% to 29%.

Quebec and Manitoba accounted for much of the growth of day care centres over the eight-year period. Public policy and funds encouraged this growth.

* More than half of the children in care in Quebec, and more than one-quarter in Manitoba, were in a day care centre in 2002-2003. Quebec government policy has promoted the large expansion of child care centres.

* Most children with two working parents in 2002-2003 were in care outside the home by a non-relative. However, most children of single working parents used day care centres.

As the proportion of children in care increased, there were shifts in the rates of use of certain services.

Children cared for outside the home by a non-relative fell from 43% to 30% in 2002-2003.

* the proportion of children cared for by a relative either inside or outside the child's home rose from 22% to nearly 30%.

* The proportion enrolled in a day care centre increased from about 20% to 28%.

The use of child care services varied widely by family characteristics, and region.

More than one-half (54%) of Canadian children were in some form of child care in 2002-2003, a rate significantly higher than the 42% reported eight years earlier.

The increase in the child care rate occurred for children from almost all backgrounds, regardless of geographic location, household income, family structure, parental employment status or parental place of birth. Child care rates varied from province to province.

The highest rate of children in some form of child care was in Quebec, where two-thirds (67%) of all children aged six months to five years were in some form of child care in 2002-2003. The lowest rate was in Alberta where only 43% of children were in child care.

In Quebec, 52% of children in child care were enrolled in a day care centre in 2002-2003, double the proportion of 25% eight years earlier. Most provinces recorded a slight increase in the use of day care centres.

Care outside the home by someone not related was the most common type in Saskatchewan 54% and Ontario 34%.

Nationally, the proportion of children cared for by a relative in the home rose from 8% in 1994-1995 to 14% in 2002-2003. The proportion of children in British Columbia and Alberta using this type of care almost tripled from 8% to 21% and 6% to 17%, respectively, during the eight-year period.

Over 22% of children in care in rural communities were cared for outside the home by a relative in 2002-2003, compared with 16% of children from urban communities.

Thirty percent of urban children were enrolled in a day care centre, compared with 22% of rural children.

In 2002-2003, about 40% of children in households at the highest income level were cared for outside the home by a non-relative while 42% of children at the lowest income level were enrolled in a day care centre.

Children of parents not born in Canada are more likely to place children inside the home in the care of a relative. Care by a relative in the childs own home was divided as follows in 2002/2003: 26% of children of a foreign-born parent and 12% of children of a Canadian born parent.

The report found the average number of hours in care fell from 31 hours per week in 1994-1995 to 29 hours in 2002-2003. Generally, children in day care centres spent more hours per week in care, while fewer hours per week were spent by children cared for by a relative.