Assignment task:
Help me respond positively to this discussion post and include 1 question ....n reflecting on the way the mother and the child are constructed with in ELCC policy, it seems as though the words and the actions do not align. The Canadian government acknowledges that the importance of the relationship between mother and child is critical (and rightfully so). However, the actions taken by policy makers do not align. In 2016, studies showed that 96% of the childcare workers in Canada were women (Savage & Uppal, 2021). "Ontario's largest child care operator, the YMCA of the GTA, has reported that, despite long waitlists, they only have 16,000 children enrolled in their 35,000 spaces because of staff shortages" (Crawley, 2023, as cited by Powell, 2023). Powell goes on to share that the YMCA would need to hire an additional 3000 staff in order to be able to accommodate the number of children that they are licensed for (2023). This shows a vicious cycle. More workers are needed. Majority of the workers within the early learning field as female, and many are mothers. They require childcare to be able to work, but they do not have workers to allow for more spots within these programs. ELCC policy is now trying to create $10 per day childcare by 2025. This shows that they understand the need of workers and the high cost associated with childcare. One of their goals is to "give families access to more affordable and high-quality child care options" (Ministry of Education, 2022). The issue is that there are many ways in which it is possible to not qualify. For example, your program provider has to be enrolled. School board programs are not included, which also reduces the number of spaces available. This solution has addressed the cost, but not the lack of spaces. Despite being in high demand, the early learning and child care sector does not adequately compensate their workers leading to a lack of staffing. "This workforce crisis is now a major roadblock to the successful implementation of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) plan in Ontario. It is slowing planned space expansion and blocking access to child care for many families"