Child care advocates take election initiative

A good story from The Tyee on the Coalition of Child Care Advocate's plan to use the election to get action - or at least commitments - on better public child care.

And a lesson for the community social services sector and its supporters.

Politicians and parties respond to issue that they believe matter to voters.

And silence from the sector signals that its issues - underfunding, waiting lists, service shortages - don't matter.

Act - write letters, attend forums, follow the Community Counts Twitter feed (@communityvote) and like the Facebook page. Share the posts and tweets. And encourage anyone you know to do the same.

There less than nine weeks until election day on May 14.

Less than nine weeks for you to help create a better future for community social services and the province.

B.C. child-care advocates say sector in crisis

By YOLANDE COLE

Sharon Gregson has observed firsthand some of the challenges facing parents with young children, and early childhood educators in B.C.

Common situations that the long-time child-care advocate, who’s the director of child and family development services at Collingwood Neighbourhood House, has seen include families being forced to leave licensed daycares because they can’t afford the fees, and early childhood educators leaving the field because they are still making $16 an hour after more than a decade of work.

Sharon Gregson: Election initiative

It’s a reality that Gregson says is only getting worse, as costs continue to increase each year. And with the provincial election approaching, advocates are ramping up their campaign for politicians to address the issue.

“The biggest crisis for families with young children at the moment is childcare, and so that needs to be front and centre,” Gregson told the Georgia Straight by phone.

As a spokesperson for the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of B.C., Gregson is at the forefront of calls for a publicly funded child-care system that would cost parents $10 a day. Since the coalition, along with the Early Childhood Educators of B.C., released the $10-a-day proposal in 2011, Gregson said it has “taken off like a house on fire”. Supporters include labour organizations, more than 15 municipalities, and over a dozen school districts.

“What this has done now is increased expectations that it is going to be an election issue, and that the NDP has to put something better on the table than the Liberals have in their budget/election platform,” Gregson said. “And the message to those people who want to be elected in May is that if you commit to the goals of the $10-a-day plan, you’ll garner votes, and if you’re silent on it or ignore it, then you’ll lose votes.”

Read more here.