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EXCERPTS
Ontario child care workers need more training and better pay if the province is serious about providing high-quality daycare, says a government-commissioned report obtained by the Toronto Star.
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Only 40 per cent of Ontario child-care workers have a post-secondary diploma in early child-care education, says the report, which was written by a provincially appointed panel of experts chaired by University of Guelph family relations professor Donna Lero.
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The 79-page report, which also recommends a sharp decrease in parent fees by 2015 to no more than 25 per cent of daycare costs, was submitted in March.
But despite a recent Star investigation into Ontario daycare licensing violations that pointed to serious health and safety problems in some government regulated centres, the province has released no plans to implement the study's recommendations to improve quality.
And only yesterday, after Children's Minister Mary Anne Chambers was asked to comment on the report, did the government post it on the ministry's website. Ministry spokesperson Trisha Edgar said Chambers is still reviewing the report and had no comment.
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"Even though the financial context has changed, it's pretty obvious given the recent coverage in the Star that the need for affordable, high quality care has not," said Lero. "This continues to be an issue that requires urgent action. And we expect the government to act."
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- reprinted from the Toronto Star