Key Issues 2
Child care systems worldwide face growing pressure as demand increases, while structural limitations persist, and despite reforms in countries like Canada, significant challenges affect the effectiveness and quality of care.
Challenges
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Staffing Shortages and Retention Issues
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Affordability and Accessibility
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Quality and Measurement Inconsistencies
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Family Child Care Challenges
These challenges impact the child care system in multiple ways. Staffing shortages are particularly severe in for-profit centers, where low wages and fewer benefits contribute to high turnover and difficulty recruiting qualified staff (Charters & Findlay, 2024). Affordability remains a concern despite efforts like $10-a-day care, with 49% of parents struggling to secure child care and long waitlists, especially for infants (Statistics Canada, 2023). The absence of a unified system for measuring early learning and child care (ELCC) outcomes complicates the ability to track and improve service quality, especially for marginalized communities (Government of Canada, 2022). Family child care providers face additional challenges, such as isolation, long hours, and inconsistent pay, which contribute to emotional stress and burnout, further impacting care quality (Eckhardt & Egert, 2020; Herman et al., 2021).
Access and Workforce Concerns
| Issue | For-Profit Centers | Non-Profit Centers | |
| Vacancies | 35% for ECE-trained staff |
|
|
| Wages | Lower average wages ($20.50–$21.50) |
Higher average wages ($22.50–$23.00) |
|
| Benefits | Fewer benefits (20% offer pensions) |
More benefits (63% offer pensions) |
Low and middle-income countries (LMICs)
also face significant child care challenges, such as poor hygiene,
overcrowding, and inadequate staff-child ratios, which lead to higher
risks of infections (Behbehani et al., 2024).