Childcare
The crisis in Flemish childcare has not yet been averted. Experts propose a vision of the future: 29,000 extra places, better working conditions, fewer children per supervisor. “This will cost money, but it is necessary”
Just over two years ago, a six-month-old girl died of brain trauma, a day after she was shaken in the daycare center ‘t Sloeberhuisje in Mariakerke. The members of the Future Group have not forgotten that drama. The working group emerged from the deep crisis that childcare has been in since then and includes experts, trade unions, employees of the Welfare Cabinet and representatives of the sector itself. After a year and a half of consultation, they presented their vision for the next ten years on Thursday.
29,000 additional places
Their plan can safely be called ambitious. “We did not start from a budget, but from practical experience and studies,” it says. The working group first wants an increase in the number of available places. There are currently 93,192, with an additional 29,000 spread over the various regions. The aim is to provide a place for 80 percent of all babies and toddlers, a target for which the group is looking to Germany and Norway. There are currently major differences per province: in Limburg, for example, there is a place for less than 35 percent of children under the age of 3.
In addition to these extra places, the group puts forward a lower number of children per supervisor as a priority. Their target is one supervisor for every five children. In addition, there must also be more support staff, from pedagogical employees who guide new workers to logistics people. These staff may not be included in the child-supervisor ratio. If we only count the pure childcare workers, the plan amounts to 5,800 extra people. It is unclear exactly how much that would cost. Minister of Welfare Hilde Crevits (CD&V) states that the plan is “ambitious, but that compromises also have to be made in politics.” “I already had a similar ratio in mind. Ten years seems a long time, but that is not always the case,” the minister adds.
Minimum rate of 1.97 euros
The resentment that has arisen in recent months about the priority rules for parents who work at least four-fifths of the day still appears to be there today. The group calls for these rules to be reversed as quickly as possible, otherwise “as a society we will pay the consequences of that discrimination later.” In the long term, all shelters must operate according to the so-called income rate. The daily price then depends on the income of the parents. The minimum rate must decrease from around 5 to 1.97 euros per day, and the maximum rate must then increase again. This is currently around 36 euros, linked to an income of 126,000 euros per year. The group then looks at Wallonia, where the maximum rate was raised from 43 to 45 euros last year. According to the experts, there should also be a so-called all-in invoice, whereby parents will no longer be charged additional costs.
In addition to all this, the different subsidy structures and remuneration must be balanced. The childminders must be given employee status through a transitional measure, unless they do not want this themselves. The subsidies should also be less focused on performance delivered, but should cover the operating costs of the shelter. Parents also benefit from this, say the experts. In addition, the system that parents have to pay for a childcare day that they have ordered, even if they ultimately did not take their child to childcare that day, must be overhauled.
