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Background
Development and Consultation Process
1.
Toronto's Child Care System
1.1
Our Clients
1.2 Overview of the Service Sector
1.3
Funding of Child Care Services
1.4 Current Service System Issues
2.
Current Management Principles and Practices
2.1
Service Plan
2.2 Budget Guidelines and Accountability
2.3 Operating Criteria
3.
Implementing Toronto's Vision for Its Child Care System
3.1
Meeting Diverse Needs
3.2 Integrating Service Delivery Systems
3.3
Promoting and Ensuring Accountability
3.4 Actual Costs of Child Care Programs
3.5 Improving Equity of Access to Child Care
Services
3.6
Achieving Equity
3.7
Equity Scenarios
3.
8 Developing the Child Care Budget
3.9
Provincial Funding in 2001
3.10
Capital Funding
3.11
Guidelines for Community Action Plans
3.12
Conclusion
Executive
Summary
For the past
decade the City has enjoyed the benefits of a service plan for licensed
and subsidized child care. This new child care plan builds on the
progress achieved to date and extends the service planning process
to include the broader range of services for children and families
for which the City as the Consolidated Municipal Service Manager
(CMSM) is now responsible. The 2001 Child Care Service Plan also
provides an important next step in the City's journey towards truly
integrated planning and delivery of services for young children
and families.
Toronto's Child
Care Service Plan identifies the principles and objectives which
have guided the service planning process, describes the development
process followed including the community consultation and Council
approval. It provides an historical overview of the local child
care system and maps local services currently available. This service
profile is considered in the context of assessed local needs and
provides a backdrop against which service gaps, overlaps and priorities
are identified.
The plan proposes
a three-year action plan with specific reference to the future treatment
of fee subsidies, wage subsidy, special needs resourcing and family
resource centres. In addition, special attention is paid to the
service needs of the francophone and Aboriginal communities within
the city. Service management strategies to address the priority
areas identified are also proposed. The approved city budget for
Children's Services for 2001 forms the basis of the cost sharing
request to the province implicit in this service plan presented.
And finally,
the service plan identifies the future work planned or already underway
to address some of the many challenges facing the child care service
system in the city which are identified in this report.
The implementation
principles negotiated with the community as part of the service
planning process are based on Council direction emanating from the
Children's Strategy (November 1999) and are summarized below:
Integration
of Services
- Children's
Services, through the local service planning process and its operating
policies and practices, will ensure that existing and new services
reflect the principles of the Children's Strategy. To this end,
Children's Services will ensure that service development and service
contracts promote integrated, efficient and accountable services.
Accountability
- The payment
of adequate staff salaries and the provision of professional development
opportunities for staff and boards of directors encourages positive
service outcomes for children and families.
- Caregiver
rates should be structured to adequately reflect costs, training,
hours of care and to provide an incentive for providers to stay
in regulated home child care.
Actual Costs
- Child
care programs should be paid their actual costs, including recognition
of administrative costs.
- Operators
should submit budgets that reflect their costs of doing business.
- Budgets
will be reviewed against a common set of guidelines.
Equitable
Allocation of Child Care Subsidies
- For planning
and allocation purposes, resources are allocated on the basis
of the number of children in a ward who live in families with
incomes below the Statistics Canada Low Income Cut-Off (LICO)
as a proportion of all children in the City of Toronto who live
in families with incomes below the LICO.
Age Equity
- Allocation
of subsidies to each ward and subsidy grants to clients are subject
to the individual age group ceilings: 15 per cent infant, 15 per
cent toddler, 45 per cent pre-school and 25 per cent school-age.
- Every
attempt will be made to fill all vacant licensed infant and toddler
space
Equity
for Population Based Services
- For planning
and allocation purposes, the service plan proposes that resources
be allocated to each ward on a per capita basis for special needs
resourcing programs and family resource programs.
Supports
for High Needs
- Child
care providers serving children in high-need areas will be afforded
protection and support through the following measures:
- Lower
optimal capacity than the usual 98 per cent (to be negotiated
on an individual basis)
- Better
teacher-child ratios where warranted
- Support
of re-adjustment of salary costs to accommodate all trained
staff.
Aboriginal
& francophone programs
- Aboriginal
and francophone programs are able to locate in any area of
the City of Toronto without consideration to the service levels
provided by other child care operators.
Investing
in Equity
- Future
capital and operating investments should promote, rather than
hinder the achievement of equity.
Surplus Wage
Subsidies
- Surplus
wage subsidies will be used to promote the age and geographical
equity targets of the service plan.
Special Needs
- Children
with special needs should have access to a range of service options
in their community. In 2001, Children's Services staff will complete
an analysis of the location and utilization of resources and develop
a plan and timetable for achieving equity to be implemented in
2002.
- New expansion
funds will be used to promote increased accessibility to supports
for children in high-need areas in equitable fashion
Expansion
of Family Resource Programs
- Available
expansion funds will be used to develop family resource programs
in under-served areas. Emphasis will be on integrating family
resource and licensed child care programs wherever possible.
Community
Action Plans
- Community
action plans will focus on implementing overall direction of the
Service Plan, which is based on current knowledge, research and
city-wide expectations. Local plans are about finding the best
way of implementing this framework; and not about setting
/amending the City's child care vision.
- The City's
Children's Strategy and the Child Care Service Plan focus on equitable
outcomes for children and families, not on equal allocation of
city resources. This means that for community planning process
a thorough assessment of community assets is required; these include
investment by other funders such as the United Way various foundations
and the federal government.
- The planning
process must focus on cross-sectoral integration and inclusion
of all children and families.
- Ensuring
maximum possible accountability and effectiveness of services
must be an integral part of the planning process
- Participation
of related sectors including, but not limited to, Libraries, Parks
and Recreation and, Public Health is essential to successful development
of community action plans.
Introduction
This
document is the Child Care Service Plan. Child care is defined as
services to children and families which include licensed child care
(centre based and supervised home child care), support for families
with special needs and family resource programs. To the extent that
it is funded by the City of Toronto, this definition also includes
unlicensed child care such as summer day programs and unsupervised
informal child care for eligible Ontario Works participants.
The service
plan is divided into three main sections.The first section describes
the current state of Toronto's child care system from the clients'
and service providers' view. Current system management practices
are addressed in the second section. The third, and the most important
section of this service plan translates the city's vision for children
into concrete implementation principles that form the basis of a
three-year action plan.
Background
The Child Care
Service Plan 2001 is a tool for guiding the funding and management
of Toronto's children's services system over the next three to five
years. This plan deals with how to implement existing policy. It
acts as a framework for action for the city's role in managing the
continuum of services that are provided to meet the early learning
and care needs of Toronto children and families. Toronto Children's
Services plays a key role in that continuum. The division is responsible
for the system management and funding of the licensed child care
system, supports for families with special needs, and family resource
programs. The funding takes the form of child care subsidies, wage
subsidies and operating grants. (See Section 1 for an overview of
the children's services system).
The Child Care
Service Plan 2001 has been prepared at the direction of City Council
which in November 1999 adopted a report recognizing that
a combination of circumstances has created "an excellent opportunity
to begin to develop and implement a more comprehensive and cost-effective
system of early childhood education and care." Among the circumstances
that have shaped the current context are the transfer of system
management responsibilities from the province to the city in 1999,
the amalgamation of six area municipalities and the Metropolitan
government into the new City of Toronto, and Council's adoption
of a Children's Strategy. (See Appendix 1.A for the full
text of Toronto's Children's Strategy).
This Service
Plan builds on Children's Services' ten years of experience in service
planning in Toronto. The foundation document for that decade of
service planning is the 1993 Service Plan for Child Care Services
which translated principles developed through previous Metro task
forces into practical goals. It proposed ways in which service could
be delivered in a rational, accountable and equitable manner that
maximized the use of resources available to the system. The plan
has formed the basis of an annual contract between the municipality
and the province for the provision of a certain level of service
within given fiscal framework. It has also formed the basis for
negotiations with service providers for subsidized childcare services
to be provided within the city and has guided budget and resource
allocation. This service plan will continue to play these roles.
The Child Care
Service Plan 2001 has also been developed to address the requirements
of the provincial government. These expectations are laid out in
the Ontario Child Care Service Management Guidelines (Appendix 1.B)
which describe service planning as an "annual process through
which delivery agents will determine the mix and level of child
care services appropriate to local needs and priorities within a
framework of provincial legislation, regulations, standards, policies
and priorities."
The current
service plan also represents a first step towards fulfilling the
provincial requirement that communities develop early years action
plans to guide the creation of a "seamless system of supports
that involves parents/caregivers, families and all sectors, including
the education, social services, health, recreation, business, voluntary
and charitable sectors."
Development
and Consultation Process
The process of
developing this service plan began after the municipality had officially
started carrying out its responsibilities as the Consolidated Municipal
Service Manager on July 1, 1999. Due to the size, complexity and fragmentation
of the child care system in Toronto it has taken a considerable period
of time to gain sufficient understanding of past provincial and operator
practices before city staff felt that a service plan could be successfully
prepared and implemented. Even at the time of writing this document,
work continues on complete reconciliation of the downloaded programs.
On the other
hand, the development of the service plan has significantly benefited
from the joint efforts of the city and community in producing the
annual Report Card on Children in Toronto which resulted in comprehensive
mapping of services and, even more importantly, establishing the
principles for intra-sectoral coordination and planning. Annual
Action Plans developed by the City of Toronto Children and Youth
Action Committee, and numerous surveys dealing with issues ranging
from client satisfaction to the cost of informal child care have
also informed the service planning process.
The Service
Plan is a result of intensive work effort by Children's Services
and its service partners. Working groups were established in 2000
and many of them will continue working into 2002 on issues that
could not be fully addressed or resolved at this time.
Community consultation
has been a cornerstone of the service planning process and the development
of this plan. In an effort to be as inclusive as possible, both
users and providers of service are being consulted. Four phases
of consultation are being undertaken.
Phase
1 - Work Groups
In September 2000, work groups were established for each funded
service sector- special needs, family resource programs, home
child care as well as for wage subsidy/funding issues in
the licensed care sectors. Focus groups were also held with the
Aboriginal and francophone communities. Terms of reference were
established for each of the work groups. During October and November
of 2000 the work groups established principles that directed the
planning exercise (a list of participants, minutes and summary of
principles developed by the workgroups are included in Appendix
5.). In addition, operational issues were identified and formed
the ongoing work plan for the groups.
Also
consulted was the Child Care Advisory Committee which represents
over 600 child care centres, home child care agencies, family resource
centres, special needs resourcing agencies, as well as organizations
that support the provision of quality child care. Separate presentations
were also made to the Metro Association of Family Resource Programs,
the CYAC, Home Child Care Association and representatives of francophone
child care programs. A wider forum was held on November 17, 2000
for all members of the child care community to be informed and to
provide input.
Phase
2 - Integration of Services
The vision for delivery of services to children in the City of Toronto,
as adopted in the Children's Strategy, involves a holistic approach
to issues affecting the well-being of children. As an outcome of
the specific work group consultation, a forum was held on April
20, 2001 in order to bring the groups together to discuss issues
of joint interest. A central issue to this forum was how to better
integrate a system of services for children. As a result, a principle
for integration of services was added (Section 3.2).
Phase
3 - Cross Sectoral Planning
The city's Strategy for Children also provides the framework to
assist in planning for all city divisions that serve children and
families including Children's Services, Libraries, Parks and Recreation
and Public Health. Council recommended the establishment of a cross-departmental
steering committee of commissioners and senior staff to ensure an
integrated approach to service planning. A half-day inter-sectoral
planning session, organized by Children's Services, was held in
December 2000 under the direction of the steering committee. This
planning day was the first step to enhance ongoing inter-sectoral
co-operation in delivering City of Toronto services for children.
Further meetings are planned with the city departments and external
funders to achieve a better integration of service planning and
delivery.
Phase
4 - Public Consultation
An important component to the service plan involves consulting the
consumers of the service. The intent is to describe the vision and
how it will be implemented and to ask for community input on issues
relevant to local communities. Six town hall meetings will be held
in various parts of the city during the fall of 2001 to give the
public an opportunity to discuss the service plan and issues of
local concern. Further public consultations will be held during
the development of community action plans in 2001 and 2002.
1.
Toronto's Child Care System
1.1
Our Clients
According to
the latest available data (the1996 Census), there are over 290,000
children in Toronto aged 0 - 9. These children live in 189,000 families.
Seventy-one per cent of families with children of this age are fully
participating in the labour force. This translates to approximately
207,000 children who require some non-parental care for at least
part of each day.
However, the
child care needs of Toronto's families go beyond custodial care
of children while their parents work or attend school. The child
care system is also about meeting children's developmental needs
and supporting parents to meet their role as primary caregivers.
In addition to licensed child care, families can also access a network
of family resource programs that provide a variety of parenting
supports such as parent drop-in, toy lending libraries, caregiver
training and playgroups. In turn, these service form part of a larger
continuum of supports that include the recreation, libraries and
education sectors. Although the services provided by family resource
programs should be available to all the families with young children,
there are many areas of the city where it is not easy for families
to take advantage of these programs. A survey carried out in 1998
showed that only 15 per cent of families with young children have
accessed any resource programs. The city is working with the family
resource programs to develop a system of reliable and comprehensive
data on families who use these programs. Historically these programs
have been funded by a variety of funders including the province,
the City of Toronto, United Way, federal government, and private
and public foundations; because of this there was not a high degree
of planning or accountability built into these programs.
The city's child
care system attempts to provide supports to families who have special
needs. At any given time over 900 children who have documented special
needs are enrolled in the child care system and supported by trained
resource teachers.
Unlike its regional
neighbours, Toronto has a high proportion of children living in
low-income families. The level of child poverty is more than twice
the average of other regions in the Greater Toronto Area (see Chart
1). Because of the preponderance of nuclear families who cannot
depend on extended families for their child care needs, higher cost
of living and higher labour force participation rates, child care
is essential to support families' economic activity. Families have
adopted a variety of approaches ranging from licensed child care
to babysitting, to leaving school-age children unattended for periods
of time, or in the care of siblings or relatives. Although surveys
have repeatedly proven that licensed child care is the preferred
option for most families (that require child care), only little
over 20 per cent of children can access it. Lack of capacity, long
waiting lists and high cost of care present major deterrent for
many families. Over 45,000 children are enrolled in licensed child
care programs across the city; of these more than half are subsidized.
(click
on image for larger view)
Of the 24,216
budgeted subsidies, 77 per cent are used by single-parent families;
34 per cent of subsidized spaces are used by children of Ontario
Works recipients (8,386 children in 5,499 families as of May 15,
2001). The single largest client group for subsidized childcare
(25.2 per cent) consists of single-parent families with one child,
in which the parent is employed and has an average net annual income
of $20,023. The average child care cost of $7,188 is well beyond
the reach of this average family, and even the $1,400 average user
fee they must pay ($5.36 per day) represents a significant strain
on limited financial resources.
Clearly,
subsidized child care plays a major role in maintaining the
employment and income security of parents. It is both a beneficial
and cost-effective alternative to social assistance. After user
fees are subtracted, the subsidy is approximately one half of the
value of a social assistance benefit for a single family with one
child (See Appendix 2.1. for a detailed statistical summary of subsidized
families). The significant decline in children aged 0 - 12 in families
receiving social assistance (25 per cent between April 1999 and
December 2000) can be only sustained by increased child care supports.
Escaping welfare does not mean escaping poverty, and the system
has enough subsidies to meet the needs of only 22 per cent of all
children in families below the Low Income Cut-Off.
It is clear
that the child care system cannot meet the existing demand. In May
2001, over 15,100 children were waiting for subsidy, a significant
increase from the 1999 waiting list of 13,000. Although 30 per cent
of subsidies are used for part time care this, generally, is part-day,
as opposed to some-day only care. There is also significant unmet
need for care outside the usual (Monday - Friday, 7 a.m. - 6 p.m.)
hours. Access to subsidies is not equitably distributed across the
municipality and, in particular, there is a huge gap between availability
and demand for infant spaces. Similarly, there are equity issues
for access to family resource programs and to supports for children
with special needs. Section 3 of the Service Plan discusses these
issues in further detail.
Provincial policy
changes regarding post-secondary students, treatment of RRSPs and,
eligible hours of care have all affected the ability of parents
to access the subsidy system. The service planning process can address
issues such as equity of access; however significant changes in
current provincial policies are required before all children who
require care can attend quality developmental programs while their
parents work or attend school.
1.2
Overview of the Service Sector
Effective July
1, 1999, Children's Services Division was designated as the service
system manager for child care services in Toronto. As a result of
the transfer (or "downloading") of management of child care
services from the province to the city, as well as through the city's
own amalgamation and harmonization of services, Children's Services
is now responsible for the planning and funding of a broader child
care system. This system includes licensed group and home child care,
family resource centres, specialized supports to children with special
needs, before and after school programs, and summer day camps. In
order to achieve its service goals, the city funds over 900 different
service providers including 58 municipally operated programs. These
include:
- 594 licensed
child care centres serving subsidized clients, including 21 licensed
Before- and After-School Programs in the former City of York
- 21 licensed
home child care agencies
- 193 licensed
child care centres receiving wage subsidy only
- 62 family
resource centres
- 27 agencies
serving families with special needs children
- 32 summer
day programs
Just as there
is a range of child care services there is also a variety of contractual
relationships. Besides directly operating 58 child care centres
and 1 home child care agency, the city has service contracts with
non-profit organizations, private operators and sole proprietors.
The majority of programs are non-profit and operated by a board
of directors. Over 80 per cent of available funding is spent through
service contracts. (See Chart 2.)
Chart
2
Centre-based Child Care by Operator Auspice
(click
on image for larger view)
Licensed
Centre - Based Child Care
Licensed child care centres are those locations in which care is
provided for a continuous period of time for more than five children
who are not of common parentage. Service providers responsible for
the operation obtain a license from the Ministry of Community and
Social Services. Toronto Children's Services has the ability to
enter into a service contract with licensed service providers for
the provision of fee subsidies for families eligible for fee assistance.
Licensed
Home Child Care
A license is issued to an agency to provide supervised home child
care in more than one location. The agency contracts with home providers
to care for up to five children in their home. The providers are paid
for the services provided based on the hours of care and ages of children
served. Children's Services has the ability to enter into a service
contract with home child care agencies for the provision of fee subsidies
for families eligible for fee assistance.
Informal
Child Care
Eligible Ontario Works clients, who require short term or part time
child care arrangements, may choose to work out their own arrangements
with a service provider of their own choice. Although usually a
neighbour or a relative, the service provider can also be a licensed
child care program. The payment is limited to $346 and $390 per
month for a preschool and school-age child respectively, and is
prorated on the basis of days and hours of service provided. The
client is responsible for negotiating the terms of service and for
quality assurance.
Family Resource Centres
The Day Nurseries Act defines family resource centres
as:
- Resource
centres that provide information, public education, consultation,
supports and services to individuals, including parents, with
respect to the care they give to children. (Reg.262,s.66.1 (2)3).
The Ministry's
Child Care Management Guidelines and the Family Resource Centre
Policy (1994) identify seven core services that may be funded in
a family resource centre: child care registry, warmline, drop in,
playgroup, toy lending library, and caregiver education. Centres
are contracted by the city to provide one or more of these services
to families.
Family resource
centres receive funding from a variety of sources including all
levels of government in addition to the United Way and local grants
and fundraising. Not all the municipal funding of resource centres
is cost-shared with the province. Additional funding has been made
available to provide services not eligible for cost-sharing or to
enhance the core services. Services funded without provincial contribution
include outreach and community development.
Specialized Support Services to
Children with Special Needs
The Day Nurseries Act refers to the work of special needs
resourcing programs as follows:
- The provision
of staff, equipment, supplies or services in a place where private-home
day care is provided or in a day nursery with respect to the special
needs of handicapped children (Reg.262 s.66.1 (2) 4).
The Ministry's
Child Care Management Guidelines encourage municipalities to integrate
children with special needs into community child care services with
their peers. This service is entirely funded through cost-sharing
with the province and carries no fee requirement for families.
The delivery
of specialized support services varies. Services may, for example,
be provided through specialized licensed nursery schools where services
tend to be more intensive and use highly specialized staff such
as occupational therapists and physiotherapists. Or a resource educator
may be employed at a licensed child care program to support children
with special needs. Or specifically designated providers may be
contracted by the agency to provide care to children with special
needs in a home child care setting. Most specialized services are
provided through a consultation model. Within a larger children's
mental health organization or developmental service agency, funds
are provided to hire staff to provide consultation services both
client specific and general to the child care sector.
Summer Day Programs
These unlicensed programs operate during the summer for eight weeks
or less and are generally offered to school-age children. The programs
usually operate in high-needs areas, are recreationally based and
operate for a full day. The city along with other funders provides
program funding to agencies to operate programs, allowing them to
set a nominal fee to participate. Families therefore do not require
fee assistance from the city. Summer day programs are currently
not cost-shared with the province.
York Before- and After-School Programs
In 2000, the City of Toronto entered into a partnership with the
Toronto District School Board and 21 programs in the former City
of York to provide up to $400,000 for before- and after-school programs
during the 2000-01 school year. The school board previously funded
these programs but due to changes in the province's education funding
formula, was unable to continue funding beyond June 2001. Although
the municipal contribution was to end at the same time, City Council
has voted to extend its participation into the next school year.
As of May 18, 2001, 733 children were enrolled in these programs.
Funding Supports to the Child Care System
Aside from the traditional funding, the city also provides direct
support to operators of child care programs in the form of wage
subsidies and operating grants. The city also pays rent to both
public school boards on behalf of all child care programs located
in schools.
Child Care System Management
The City of Toronto is designated by legislation as the Consolidated
Municipal Service Manager. Children's Services Division is responsible
for the child care system planning and management, including determination
of eligibility for subsidy and contract management with service
providers. The cost of system management is approximately 4.9 per
cent of the 2001 gross budget. The most recent available data show
that the city's management cost per subsidized space is approximately
56 per cent of the GTA average.
Under the Day
Nurseries Act, service providers delivering licensed child care
services are required to notify the Ministry within 24 hours of
serious occurrences. As a part of the transfer of system management
functions from the province to the municipality, a joint protocol
for responding to serious occurrence reports and public complaints
or inquiries was established. Child care operators are now required
to report serious occurrences to Toronto Children's Services. Extending
access to the city's automated reporting system to MCSS licensing
staff has ensured that staff in both organizations are simultaneously
notified and kept up-to-date on any developments.
1.3
Funding of Child Care Services
The City of Toronto Council has allocated $275.3 million within
the Children's Services 2001 operating budget for the operation
of its child care system. The funding responsibility is shared between
the province, city and subsidized child care users. Chart 3 illustrates
a high level picture of the funding shares accruing to the individual
partners assuming that the Ministry of Community and Social Services
provides the required funding. The chart demonstrates how, as a
result of downloading, sideloading and regulation changes, additional
child care investment by the city had to grow just to preserve the
existing service system. The seemingly declining share of user revenue
is a reflection of addition of downloaded programs as opposed to
any reduction in user revenue.
Chart 3
Funding Sources
(click on chart for larger view)
The province funds
up to a predetermined ceiling:
- 80 per cent of the net cost of "prescribed
services" exclusive of administration
- Regular child care subsidies
- Ontario Works (OW) subsidies,
formal and informal
- Family resource programs (up
to a pre-determined ceiling)
- Special needs resourcing
- Wage subsidy (paid to non-profit
and commercial operators, including licensed child care, special
needs resourcing and family resource programs)
- Health and safety expenditures
- 50 per cent of approved administrative
costs (excluding OW administration).
The city funds:
- 20 per cent of the net cost of "prescribed
services" exclusive of administration
- 50 per cent of approved administrative
costs
- 100 per cent of any costs not approved
through a negotiated service contract or costs above the approved
level even if eligible for cost sharing. Currently these include:
- School rents
- Summer day programs
- Contribution to the Child Care
Capital Fund and expenditures therefrom
- Operating support to child care
centres
- Some family resource programs
or services
- The York Before- and After-School
Program
Fees collected from child care users
accounted for approximately $17 million in 2000. User revenue is
subtracted from the total eligible expenditures to determine the
net amount to be cost-shared between the Ministry of Community and
Social Services and the municipality. Licensed child care users
are assessed user fees which are then used to reduce the provincial
and municipal contribution to the overall budget. Approximately
5.9 per cent of the overall system cost is funded from user revenue.
Subsidized clients are assessed fees
according to a provincially mandated needs test and a municipally
mandated income test. The higher of the two fees applies. The formula
that is used to compute the income-based user fee consists of a
basic exemption based on family size and a tax-back of 27 per cent
of all net (after-tax) income above that. (See Appendix 2.4 for
a sample fee schedule). There is no minimum user fee assessed against
any client and user fees are only collected from subsidy clients
using licensed child care programs. Currently approximately 50 per
cent of subsidized families (representing 50 per cent of children)
pay no user fees. Ten per cent of families with the highest incomes
generate over forty per cent of all user revenue (see Chart 4).
User revenue is a very volatile source
of funds. Every one cent change in the average user fee represents
approximately $65,000 in annual revenue. Because of the first-come,
first-served policy, each child that leaves subsidized child care
can be replaced with
Chart 4
Distribution of Subsidized
Families and
User Revenue by Annual Income
(click on chart for
larger view)
another who
may owe much different (lower or higher) user fees. Similarly, a
further infusion of Ontario Works clients could result in a significant
reduction in user revenue and affect the system's ability to provide
the targeted number of subsidies. Alternatively, any shortfall in
user revenue has to be either covered by the province and the municipality
on an 80:20 basis, or a corresponding service cut must be implemented.
The $17.2 million user revenue budgeted in 2001 represents funding
for approximately 2,300 subsidies.
Beginning in
2001, $2.2 million from National Child Benefit "claw-back"
has been allocated to Children's Services, in part to offset the
loss of user revenue associated with enrolment of Ontario Work or
other low income clients.
1.4
Current Service System Issues
For several
years the child care system in the City of Toronto has been under
a severe pressure arising from high levels of unmet needs and constrained
funding. Many of the issues listed in this section have been identified
before. Repeated task forces and reviews have identified the significant
funding issues facing the service providers and the city as the
service manager. In 1998, a major review conducted by KPMG on behalf
of the Ministry of Community and Social Services confirmed the city's
position that a significant expansion of the system is required
in order to meet the needs generated by Ontario Works. Following
the publication of the 1999 Report Card on Children in Toronto,
Council considered and approved a report entitled "A Comprehensive
Summary of Child Care Issues, and a Proposed Plan and Timetable
for Action" in November 1999. At that time the estimated cost
of addressing the most pressing issues was $43 million gross and
$7.5 million net. Since that time some progress has been made, especially
in the area of payment of actual costs and playground rehabilitation.
To inform the
service planning process, working groups were established for each
funded service sector. Although many issues were specific to particular
service sectors, there were also similarities identified between
sectors. The working groups asked the city to address the following
pressures facing the child care system as a whole:
- A need to
pay service providers the actual costs of doing business
- Support for
staff and provider training
- Barrier-free
child care access
- A need to
explore differentiated funding mechanisms to support special needs
children and high-risk families in achieving service equity
- Service equity
for all sectors
- Flexible
funding for administration
- Playground
retrofit or replacement costs.
In addition,
each sector faces its own particular challenges. The home child
care sector, for example, identified the need to co-ordinate caregiver
support with other sectors providing similar services to ensure
that at a local level services are integrated to maximize opportunities
for caregivers. This group also identified the need to review the
adequacy of provider payments to reflect training received and hours
of care. As a result of new ward boundaries, home child care agencies
will be required to adjust their service boundaries to reflect these
changes. New service areas will be negotiated within the current
service plan. In addition, the city will explore with the home child
care agencies and the province new models of delivery such as direct
licensing of home child care providers.
The future funding
and distribution of wage subsidy is another issue that continues
to be of interest to most service providers in Toronto. A sore point
with commercial operators, the unequal distribution of wage subsidy
presents a possible $25.3 million pressure for the system funders.
However additional funding is not anticipated from the Ministry
of Community and Social Services. While the city works with the
community to determine options for the distribution of wage subsidy,
any surpluses in the system will be reserved to support age and
geographic equity in accordance with the service plan.
The combination
of quality and financial viability is critical for the successful
operation of a child care program. In order to ensure quality, a
program needs adequate financial resources and efficient administration
as well as high caliber, motivated staff who provide a secure, nurturing
environment to children. Financial viability requires a quality
program that attracts and retains a full enrolment of children.
A new challenge
to the service planning process is the integration of children with
special needs into the mainstream of the child care system. Because
specialized supports are provided by a limited number of agencies,
it is important to ensure that the child care sector across the
city is ready to accept children with special needs. This requires
addressing the issues related to barrier-free access, availability
of trained staff and consideration of administrative practices which
would not penalize regular child care centres for lower that "optimal"
enrolment levels.
Francophone
and Aboriginal communities face particular barriers in accessing
service because of the difficulties in establishing viable programs.
Although francophone children comprise over eight per cent of the
child population, only nine child care centres provide service in
French. The situation is even more stark for the Aboriginal community;
although approximately five per cent of all the child population,
only two child care centres with fee subsidies are dedicated to
the developmental and care needs of this community. In addition,
finding culturally and linguistically appropriate supports for special
needs children remains a challenge.
Clearly, most
of the issues identified above are related to the availability of
resources both in terms of meeting the actual costs of providing
service as well as meeting the identified needs and demand. The
Council of the City of Toronto has repeatedly, and without much
success, offered to match any increases in provincial funding that
would be dedicated to meeting those identified needs. Instead, as
a result of provincial downloading and sideloading the city's financial
contribution has increased by $29.3 million or 123 per cent since
1997 without any appreciable increase in service levels.
2.
Current Management Principles and Practices
Toronto Children's
Services manages the range of services described in the previous
section in accordance with provincial legislation and policy as
well as with the policies laid out by Toronto City Council. In addition
to the requirements of the Day Nurseries Act, the province
has provided Children's Services with the Child Care Service
Management Guidelines (Appendix 1.B) and assorted Ontario Works
guidelines to assist in fulfilling the division's responsibility
as delivery agent for child care.
City of Toronto
policies approved by Council, including the Service Plan for
Child Care, 1993, Operating Criteria for Child Care Programs,
and Operating Budget Guidelines are designed to ensure that high
quality financially viable services are delivered equitably throughout
the city in a manner that maximizes the use of public funds. Children's
services programs that fulfill the requirements of the service plan
and meet both the city's operating criteria and financial requirements
may enter into a service contract with the city.
2.1
Service Plan
The original
Service Plan for Child Care Services in Metropolitan Toronto
adopted by Council in 1993 provides a framework for management of
licensed child care. The plan is founded on principles that ensure
service is delivered in a rational, accountable and equitable manner
that maximizes the use of available resources.
In determining
whether programs meet the requirements of the service plan, applications
are reviewed against the principles of age and geographic equity
and the requirement to operate in an efficient manner. (See Section
3 for equity definitions.) Applications for age groups or wards
that are currently relatively well served, in terms of the current
level of resources available for that age group or ward, are not
approved. As a result not all licensed programs have a service contract
with the city for the provision of fee subsidies.
2.2
Budget Guidelines and Accountability
Services are
funded, delivered and governed in accordance with a service contract.
Children's Services has a standardized service contract which lays
out the expectation of service providers for the provision of funding
in addition to the relevant policy and procedures governing both
the service level and funding.
Service providers
with whom the city has a service contract for fee subsidies, family
resource centre or special needs funding submit both an initial
and an annual operating budget. The budget document allows service
providers to describe their actual and expected expenditures for
the previous year and to project their costs for the coming year.
Expenses are categorized in the budget as salaries, benefits, administration,
program expenses, food, property operation and other related costs
such as insurance, office supplies, advertising, telephone, legal,
etc.
Costs listed
in the annual budget generally reflect the previous year's experience,
except for large purchases or renovations which are amortized over
a five-year period or term of a lease. There are Council-approved
ceilings for salaries, benefits, casual staff costs, and business
travel but all other items are as indicated by the service operator.
The operator's submitted budget is reviewed in accordance with budget
guidelines approved by Council and the service contract between
the city and the operator reflects the funding agreement based on
the service provider budget as approved.
In the case
of licensed child care, operators are paid a per diem rate which
reflects the lower of their daily cost or fee charged to the public
or their approved costs. Based on the direction that the subsidy
per diem should not pay for vacancies, the budget guidelines ensure
that rates are calculated assuming optimal enrolment or that programs
are generally full. In addition, rates are calculated on the most
efficient staffing configurations.
Family resource
centres and special needs resourcing agencies are paid quarterly
based on their approved budget. The division is currently working
with these service providers to refine the existing budget guidelines
to better reflect the costs of these programs.
In accordance
with Council requirements, service operators are expected to submit
audited financial statements each year if they have received more
than $30,000 in funding. The division reviews all operating
costs against audited financial statements and T4 analysis. In addition,
in accordance with provincial requirements, family resource centres
and special needs resourcing agencies are required to submit quarterly
financial and service targets statements.
For every program
under contract, the city compares the actual expenses for the previous
year to the approved budget for that year as well as to the budget
submission for the current year. The purpose of this comparison
is to ensure that service operators do not receive more money than
it costs them to deliver service. Overpayments are recovered and
used to fund additional service. Operators are not precluded from
re-allocating expenses between line items provided these expenses
do not exceed the limits set for salaries, benefits and business
travel. While the city reviews line by line variances to assess
reasonableness, recoveries are made only if there are unallowable
expenses or total under expenditure from the approved budget.
Wage subsidy
is monitored through the use of an annual utilization statement.
Programs receiving more than $20,000 in wage subsidy must also provide
an audited financial statement and special purpose report to verify
that the funds were used for the purposes for which they were intended.
2.3
Operating Criteria
Consistent
with the Provincial Child Care Objectives, the city's operating
criteria outline the program and financial requirements which programs
must meet to be eligible for a service contract with the city.
Through its
operating criteria, the city is able to offer further and more specific
definition to the Day Nurseries Act and to reflect local
community interests. The criteria provide operators with clear expectations
and reflect the service contract terms and conditions.
They are also
intended to allow service operators to evaluate and monitor their
own programs against municipal standards. To this end, Children's
Services reviews service applications against the Council approved
operating criteria before entering into a service contract for fee
subsidies for both centre-based and home child care programs. Children's
Services is in the process of developing operating criteria for
family resource programs. Revisions of the existing licensed child
care criteria is planned to address the provision of supports to
children with special needs as well as the delivery of services
to school-age children by the recreation sector.
3.
Implementing Toronto's Vision for Its Child Care System
3.1
Meeting Diverse Needs
The City of
Toronto is a multicultural community that is continually changing
and renewing itself. Despite the ever-growing variety of ethno-cultural
backgrounds, the basic developmental needs of children and the support
needs of their parents are essentially the same. All children, regardless
of race or socio-economic status benefit from developmental opportunities.
In order to work or study, all parents should have access to quality
child care arrangements.
Toronto is a
large city in which the nuclear family is the norm, rather than
the exception. Yet within this universe, the individual needs of
children and families often differ significantly. For example, in
the 1998 Child Care Needs Survey, 80 per cent of families who encountered
problems in finding suitable child care identified shift
work or need for part time care only as the major reasons. However,
because of financial risk and the fact that demand far outstrips
the supply of the traditional (weekday 7 a.m.- 6 p.m.) quality child
care spaces, there are not many reasons for child care providers
to venture into provision of extended hours, weekend service or
service to high-need populations without significant expansion and/or
enhancement of the existing system.
Families with
children with special needs face an additional set of challenges
while trying to meet their children's developmental and child care
needs. Although specific funding is set aside for this group, the
real challenge lies in successfully integrating children with special
needs into the mainstream of the child care system.
This service
plan also supports the development of services to Aboriginal and
francophone populations, as well as on children at risk of negative
developmental and health outcomes due to poverty and other social
and environmental circumstances. Specific funding and access provisions
are made for children of Ontario Works recipients, especially those
who are either mandatory or voluntary participants in the Learning,
Earning and Parenting (LEAP) program.
3.2
Integrating Service Delivery Systems
In the past,
the different child care sectors tended to operate in isolation,
reflecting their individual mandates and points of view. Although
there are some examples of holistic approaches to meeting the needs
of children, families and communities, this in general, has not
been the practice. The current state of fragmented policy and funding
approaches is not helping.
The need and
opportunity for an integrated system of services to children and
families is not limited to the child care sector. As a first step
towards developing a shared vision of an integrated early childhood
development system, consultations have been initiated with Parks
and Recreation, Public Health, and Libraries. The focus of the consultations
has been on assessing community needs and promoting local service
partnerships.
On Council direction,
a cross-sectoral study will be implemented in 2002 that will provide
a comprehensive assessment of needs, opportunities and barriers
to ensure that all investments in programs for children and families
are planned and connected in a way that is consistent with the city's
Strategy for Children. Various models of cross-sectoral integration
are being explored through the Early Childhood Education, Development
and Care Pilot projects, the first of which is scheduled for implementation
in September 2001.
Families and children benefit from the
ability to access a full range of quality services that meet their
developmental and care needs. The key components of the Children's
which identify the importance of an integrated system are:
- The city
demands a holistic as opposed to a sectoral or program response
to issues affecting children's well-being.
- The city
promotes both, equity of access and responsive service approaches
to children through integrated service planning at the neighborhood
level.
- The city
builds and strengthens local community partnerships and negotiates
the fullest and most prudent use of shared community resources.
Implementation
Principle - Integration of Services
- Children's
Services, through the local service planning process and its operating
policies and practices, will ensure that existing and new services
reflect the principles of the Children's Strategy. To this end,
Children's Services will ensure that service development and service
contracts promote integrated, efficient and accountable services.
Inter-Sectoral
Planning
Child care services do not stand alone. Education, as well as the
city's recreation, library and public health programs all support
healthy child development and family functioning. Ultimately, child
development and child care plans must be prepared as a joint effort
among all the sectors. The recent entry into service planning by the
provincially mandated early years initiatives presents as much a challenge
as an opportunity to improve the service co-operation and integration.
Lack
of Information
Through the process of developing and regularly publishing the Report
Card on Children in Toronto, there is now a wealth of information
on the location of all services supporting the families and children
in Toronto. However, with exception of licensed child care programs
where detailed attendance records must be kept, the knowledge about
the usage of other programs is generally limited to registration
records and counts of attendees in individual programs. Aside from
limited survey data, there is no knowledge on cross-sectoral service
access. In a 1998 child care needs survey, some questions were asked
about usage of library, recreation, resource centre and other programs
by Toronto's families with young children. The results indicated
usage of multiple services by a high proportion of families. This
would indicate that usage counts from individual sectors are not
entirely cumulative and that a large segment of families with young
children do not access any services at all. More and better information
must be collected on a cross-sectoral basis in order to successfully
plan and deliver services. Recently the City of Toronto Council
has adopted a recommendation of the Children and Youth Action Committee
to design and carry out a comprehensive cross-sectoral survey to
determine the usage and barriers to usage of programs serving the
developmental and care needs of children and families in Toronto.
The survey will be designed in 2001, and implemented and analyzed
in 2002.
Unclear
Policy Context
A major opportunity for cross-sectoral co-operation exists in the
area of school-age child care and recreation. In the fall of 2000,
the Ministry of Community and Social Services changed DNA regulations
to allow the expenditure of child care subsidies in the recreation
sector for the care of school-age children. Although this possible
partnership has a potential for improving quality, service options
and access, numerous policy and implementation issues must be addressed
before a full scale partnership between child care and recreation
can be introduced. The issues include user fees, quality assurance,
attendance monitoring practices, and impacts on existing service providers.
Despite provincial
expectations, it is not likely that the use of child care funds
in recreation will result in more service for less funding. In the
absence of additional funding, there will continue to be strong
opposition from child care providers to any diversion of funds from
child care to recreation. This service plan proposes to make use
of the recreation sector in areas where there are insufficient levels
of school-age child care and a lack of other suitable options. Meanwhile,
work will continue on development of a comprehensive plan for child
care needs of school-age children, including operating criteria
for unlicensed school-age programs.
Funding
Complexities
One of the major barriers to a large scale co-ordination of the
recreation and child care sector is the complicated web of funding
arrangements and the requirements to generate user revenue. In licensed
child care, individual children receive funding, while in recreation,
programs are base-funded. In child care, user fees are assessed
according to a legislated formula while in recreation they may,
or may not be charged depending on the nature of the program and
on community need.
3.3
Promoting and Ensuring Accountability
Through processes
embedded in the 1993 Service Plan, the Children's Services
Division has sought a continuous improvement in the effectiveness
and efficiency of child care services. Effective services are those
that meet the child's, parent's and community's needs as efficiently
as possible. The basic principle of the city's Children's Strategy
is that in order to achieve equitable and beneficial outcomes for
all children, the city investments must be tailored to the specific
needs of individual communities and special focus populations.
Effective outcomes
are built on eliminating the ambiguity about the purpose of
traditional child care. It is healthy child development in a safe,
nurturing and stimulating environment or ongoing support of parents'
obligation to provide for their family's economic security through
work or schooling. It is an underlying tenet of this plan that these
purposes rather than being in conflict, are, in fact, highly compatible
and that a high quality child care is the best way to achieve them
both.
As a result
of the 1993 Service Plan, the Children's Services Division already
has in place numerous mechanisms to ensure that service in the licensed
child care sector is as efficient as possible. The focus of this
plan is on developing acceptable levels of accountability in the
downloaded programs. Already underway is the development of operating
criteria for family resource programs and a more detailed examination
of allocation of wage subsidies.
It is important
to understand that the efficiency of programs cannot be equated
with the unit cost of service alone. There are several cost-drivers
that affect the unit costs including age mix, occupancy costs, hours
of operation (centres away from downtown often operate longer hours),
proportion of qualified staff, and staff salaries. Training of staff
and teaching salaries have been consistently identified through
research as major contributors to quality of care. In 2000, as a
part of the initiative to pay the actual costs of operation, the
city provided additional funding to operators who agreed to increase
the minimum salaries for trained Early Childhood Educator (ECE)
staff to a minimum of $13.00 per hour. Subject to availability of
funding, this initiative will continue in 2001 and beyond.
Implementation
Principles - Accountability
- The payment
of adequate staff salaries and the provision of professional development
opportunities for staff and boards of directors encourage positive
service outcomes for children and families.
- Caregiver
rates should be structured to adequately reflect costs, training,
hours of care and to provide an incentive for providers to stay
in regulated home child care.
3.4
Actual Costs of Child Care Programs
Evaluation of
the effectiveness and efficiency of programs cannot be undertaken
without addressing the adequacy of funding. Beside the fact that
there are service gaps and unmet needs, current funding levels do
not meet the actual costs of operation of child care programs. Due
to ongoing fiscal restraint policies of the province and the city,
rates paid to licensed care providers were frozen from 1993 until
1999, and decreased for family resource programs prior to downloading
in 1998. In November 1999, Toronto City Council made a commitment
to a multi-year plan for return to payment of actual costs.
The process
of determining actual costs of operation for licensed child care
providers is fairly straightforward because a detailed budget analysis
of every service contract is undertaken every year. The gap between
the rates that Children's Services pays for subsidized clients and
the actual costs as determined through analysis of agency budgets
was approximately $5.5 million in 2000. The gap between full fee
(public) rates and the rates that the city pays was approximately
$10 million.
While there
is no question that family resource programs and programs serving
children with special needs have had their funding constrained for
several years, their actual cost funding requirements are much harder
to determine. Due to complex program and funding arrangements, more
analysis is required before a determination can be made of the amount
of funding that is required for actual costs of operation beyond
the inflation-related increases. Children's Service will work with
the service providers and other funders, including United Way, Health
Canada and the Province of Ontario to develop a mechanism for funding
of actual costs and ensuring the accountability of these programs.
While adequate
funding of administrative costs is an issue for the whole child
care system, nowhere is it more glaring than for family resource
programs. None of the existing funders specifically provide for
administration costs associated with running the programs, meeting
reporting requirements, or training staff and board members. The
city's operating criteria for family resource programs, which will
be in place by 2002, will address the accountability issues as well
as the associated funding requirements.
While rightfully
demanding accountability and efficiency, child care funders must
recognize that the ability of any child care program to deliver
an effective program that meets the needs of the children, parents
and the community, depends upon adequate resources.
Implementation
Principles - Actual Costs
- Child
care programs should be paid their actual costs, including recognition
of administrative costs
- Operators
should submit budgets that reflect their costs of doing business.
- Budgets
will be reviewed against a common set of guidelines.
3.5
Improving Equity of Access to Child Care Services
Basic
Assumptions
- The Child
Care Service Plan 2001 is guided by several basic assumptions
about equity of access to child care services:
- Equity
is fundamental - Equitable access to services for children
is part of the prime directive provided by City of Toronto Council
in November 1999 through adoption of the Children's Strategy and
Service Planning Guidelines. Equity is not a new concept, however
it has proven a rather elusive one in the absence of specific
targets and resources.
- Equity
does not necessarily mean adequacy-The discussion of equity
is not meant to displace any discussion of adequacy of services.
Through this document there are occasional references to "over-served"
and "under-served" areas, communities and wards. The
intent is to reflect whether the given community is above or below
its equitable share of existing resources, rather than to reflect
on the adequacy of resources.
For child
care subsidies, it is relatively easy to estimate the level of unmet
needs. However for other services, such as those provided by family
resource programs, there is not a body of knowledge that allows
us to define what is the minimum acceptable level of services for
any community. All we know is that the existing resources are sufficient
to support only a small part of the families that would benefit
from the services provided by these programs.
- Different
sectors require different definitions - How equity is defined
depends upon the specific characteristics of each service sector.
The definitions contained within the 1993 Child Care Service Plan
are specific to the child care sector only. Even within child
care, different definitions must be used to distinguish between
services that are targeted and those that are universal.
- Two basic
options- Data from all child care sectors clearly show that
access to resources is not fairly distributed throughout Toronto.
If the status quo is not acceptable, then equity can be achieved
either through infusion of new resources into under-served areas,
through re-allocation of existing resources, or through any combination
of the two which achieves the desired result within an acceptable
time frame.
- Need for
expansion funding- Obviously, it is preferably to achieve
equity in the system through continuous expansion without having
to reduce accessibility in the wards that currently have more
than their share of resources. As history shows, growth in child
care funding occurs somewhat sporadically, but it does happen.
The challenge is to develop a plan that adapts to the changing
circumstances of availability or lack of growth of resources.
- Time frame
for achievement - Although this plan is built on an assumption
that the preferable way to improve access and achieve equity is
through growth, the fundamental question remains: How long are
we prepared to live with inequity? This plan sets out a five-year
time frame for achieving equity with annual reviews of progress
and adjustment of targets depending on the availability of new
resources. In July of every year, following the reconciliation
of the child care budget approvals by the City Council and the
regional office of Ministry of Community and Social Services,
an appropriate adjustment in equity targets for the following
12 months will be made. A major review of targets will follow
the release of 2001 Census data in 2002-03
- First-Come,
First-Served - City Council directives for the Child Care
Service Plan demand that access to child care subsidies be granted
on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to equity considerations.
In practical terms, this policy is being implemented on a municipal
ward and age-group basis.
- First-Come,
First-Served and Ontario Works - The provincial Child Care
Service Management Guidelines dictate that "Ontario
Works participants making the transfer to employment are a priority
group for child care fee subsidies." Within the Children's
Services budget $13.467 million has been allocated specifically
to Ontario Works clients to ensure timely access to child care.
This translates into approximately to 2,050 subsidies dedicated
primarily to school-age children.
The priorities
for granting child care subsidies from this allocation are determined
by Social Services Division. The child care system's ability to
accommodate a large number of Ontario Works clients depends upon
the availability of funding to offset the user revenue that is lost
when a regular subsidy client is displaced (approximately $1,300
per client). Therefore, priority admissions for Ontario Works clients
outside the specifically allocated 2,050 spaces can be granted only
as far as the financial balance of the system is maintained. Additional
funding of $2.7 million has been set aside for the child care supports
for OW families in which parents are under 21 years old and participates
in the Learning, Earning and Parenting program. Such participation
is mandatory for those who are 16 or 17 years old.
Equity
of Outcomes
In an ideal world, equity is measured not in terms of access to resources,
but in terms of outcomes. The framework adopted for the Toronto Report
Card on Children and for the development of service plans clearly
identifies the need to focus on achieving equity of outcomes. The
process of developing benchmarks, measuring progress, and proposing
corrective action is being undertaken under the aegis of the City
of Toronto Children and Youth Action Committee through the annual
Report Card on Children and CYAC Action Plan. Service plans reflect
individual sectoral (departmental) proposals on how to best achieve
the Council directions within given resources. In this context, equity
is viewed in terms of allocation and access to child care resources
Child Care Subsidies
Subsidies are available to offset the cost of child care to those
families who require it in order to engage in work or study. Subsidies
are also available for families who have special needs and cannot
afford the full cost of child care. (NB: this definition does not
apply to Ontario Works clients.) Families' ability to pay is determined
by their financial resources as measured by a needs test administered
according to the provisions of Day Nurseries Act and associated
regulations.
Implementation
Principle - Equity for Child Care Subsidies
For planning and allocation purposes, resources are allocated
on the basis of the number of children in a ward who live in families
with incomes below the Statistics Canada Low Income Cut-Off (LICO)
as a proportion of all children in the City of Toronto who live
in families with incomes below the LICO.
In other words,
any given municipal ward should have the level of resources that
equals its share of the city-wide total of children in families
with incomes below LICO. This is referred to as the ward "ceiling"
(See Chart 5). This does not mean that subsidies are restricted
to families whose incomes are below LICO. Assuming that a family
passes the financial need test, subsidy is allocated on a first-come,
first-served basis and user fees are assessed according to each
individual family's income.
Chart 5
Children Aged 0 - 9 by Ward (1996
census)
For licensed
child care programs, equity requirements also apply to access by
different age groups of children. Historically the age equity shares
have been defined for all areas of Toronto as follows:
Currently, the
proportion of infant and toddler subsidies is significantly below
its allocated level. This is entirely due to lack of system capacity
to accommodate these age groups. Because the financial risk associated
with the cost of vacant spaces, many operators are reluctant to
provide centre-based care for infant and toddlers despite long waiting
lists. Virtually every ward is below its ceiling for infant care.
In order to encourage child care operators to increase the licensed
capacity for the youngest children, this service plan provides for
maximum possible enrollment in infant and toddler centres without
respect to the geographic equity criteria.
Implementation
Principles - Age Equity
- Allocation
of subsidies to each ward and subsidy grants to clients are subject
to the individual age group ceilings: 15per cent infant, 15per
cent toddler, 45per cent pre-school and 25per cent school age.
- Every
attempt will be made to fill all vacant licensed infant and toddler
spaces.
Principles
of Equity for Population-Based Programs
On the basis of current research, this service plan assumes that
the incidence of developmental disabilities is evenly distributed
within the population without regard to the socio-economic status
of families. Family resource programs focus on providing supports
and developmental opportunities to all families and children regardless
of income or employment status.
Implementation
Principle - Equity for Population-Based Services
- For planning
and allocation purposes, the service plan proposes that resources
be allocated to each ward on a per capita basis for special needs
resourcing programs and family resource programs.
Resources
for Children and Families at Risk and High-Need Areas
It must be recognized that in order to secure equitable outcomes
for all children, additional investments may be required for families
and children living in high-need areas or in circumstances
that put children at risk of long-term negative outcomes. This service
plan uses the definition contained in the Toronto Report Card on
Children: High-needs areas are those neighbourhoods that have a
very high concentration of children in low-income families and children
in single-parent families (see Map 1). In addition, some service
providers by virtue of their location or specialization serve predominantly
high-need children or children at risk. At this time a child care
centre will qualify if at least 50 per cent of the operating capacity
is occupied by children who pay no user fee; by this definition
alone, approximately 24 per cent of all centres would qualify.
Implementation
Principle - Supports for High Needs
- Child
care providers serving children in high-need areas will be afforded
protection and support through the following measures:
- Lower
optimal capacity than the usual 98 per cent (to be negotiated
on an individual basis)
- Better
teacher-child ratios where warranted
- Support
of re-adjustment of salary costs to accommodate all trained
staff
Services
for Aboriginal and Francophone Populations
Child care programs serving Aboriginal and francophone populations
are usually associated or co-located with other dedicated facilities
such as schools or housing co-operatives. In order to ensure the
viability of these programs and to promote their growth, the normal
interpretation of the service plan as it applies to the location
of new or expanded facilities in over-served wards will not apply.
Implementation
Principle - Aboriginal & francophone programs
- Aboriginal
and francophone programs are able to locate in any area of the
City of Toronto without consideration to the service levels provided
by other child care operators
Equity,
Need and the Waiting Lists
Over the years there has been a tendency to define need and to allocate
new resources in terms of waiting lists. However research conducted
for the 1993 service plan clearly demonstrated that waiting lists
are to a large degree a function of density and visibility of existing
services. In other words, the more services that are visible and
accessible, the more demand they will create. Making quality
services available is a key to generating demand and improving equity
of access in under-served areas.
Growing
Wards and Neighbourhoods
The demographic data upon which the ward allocations are based will
be always somewhat out of date. However the magnitude of population
change within individual wards has to be quite significant in order
to affect the overall distribution of resources. (For example,
the ward with the highest level of service above the absolute equity
level would have to grow in population by more than one-third in
order to have a level of population that would warrant the level
of service the ward currently receives. Such population growth would
have to happen without any growth in the rest of the city.)
3.6
Achieving Equity
Equity
Does Not Happen on Its Own
Past experience suggests that without intervention there is very
little likelihood of ever attaining equitable allocation of resources
across the city. Experience also teaches us that without a timetable
supported by annual setting of targets and review of progress, the
chances of success are limited at best. However, without providing
tools that allow for development of child care services in under-served
areas, without public education, and without co-operation among
the various service sectors serving, setting targets alone is not
sufficient.
Barriers
to Equity
Among the barriers to greater service equity are:
- Resistance
among existing service providers to the possibility of having
to re-allocate resources from one area of the city into another.
- An insufficient
supply of licensed spaces, or vacant licensed spaces or home child
care in some areas of the city. This capacity needs to be developed
through locating child care spaces in existing facilities, or,
if necessary, the capital development of new facilities.
- For a variety
of personal, cultural and perceptual reasons, subsidized child
care in some wards may be relatively under-utilized. However,
given changing ward demographics and perceptions as well as the
fact that no ward has child care resources for much more than
20 per cent of eligible children, the resource allocation system
has to be based on actual distribution of children in low income
families.
Overcoming
Barriers
New, or re-allocated subsidies alone are not sufficient if there
is not a sufficient licensed capacity to take the available subsidies.
Often the greatest barrier to expanding the supply of licensed child
care services in under-served areas is the lack of ongoing supports
such as wage subsidies or the uncertainty related to start-up and
first-year operating costs. The city will use the limited resources
at its disposal to provide the incentives necessary to develop new
services.
The available
funding instruments are:
- The Child
Care Capital Reserve Fund (for a fuller discussion see Section
3.10)
- Wage subsidy
(any unallocated surplus can be redirected as necessary)
- Expansion
funding dedicated to a particular target.
New construction
is very capital intensive. Given current construction costs of $15,000-$20,000
per space and the lack of provincial contributions to child care
capital projects, it is not likely that many new facilities
will be built from the ground up with public funds alone. Because
the Child Care Capital Reserve Fund is not sufficiently large to
sustain a building program across the whole city, it is important
that it be used to address equity issues. Partnerships and innovative
uses of the fund, such as revolving loans, build-to-lease projects
should enable the most effective use of the scarce capital funds.
Implementation
Principle - Investing in equity
- Future
capital and operating investments should promote, rather than
hinder the achievement of equity.
A
limited amount of wage subsidy funding becomes available every year
as child care operators close or change their operating capacity;
the annualized value of the surplus is .415 million in 2001. This
surplus will be re-allocated in a manner that supports the geographical
and age equity of the plan.
Implementation
Principle - Surplus wage subsidies
- Surplus
wage subsidies will be used to promote the age and geographical
equity targets of the service plan
3.7
Equity Scenario
Licensed
Child Care
Chart 6 shows
the current variance from the equity distribution. On a per cent
basis the biggest shortfalls are in wards 16, 39 and 41. Because
of the differences in size of child population in families below
LICO, it is also useful to look at the absolute number of subsidies
currently above or below the equity level. Chart 7 shows that several
wards are more than 100 subsidies below and three wards are more
than 1000 subsidies above their share. It will take approximately
five years of expansion of 2,000 spaces each year to achieve geographical
equity without reduction in any of the over-served wards. It is
important to ensure that new growth is directed to those areas that
do not currently receive their share of resources and that these
areas are ready to accept any such growth. In the areas in which
there are not sufficient licensed spaces for school-age children,
the plan will permit eventual placement of subsidized children into
recreational programs after technical and policy issues have been
satisfactorily resolved.
While it is
preferable to achieve equity through expansion, it is by no means
guaranteed that sufficient provincial and municipal funding will
be made available to do that. In that case it will be necessary
to provide for a gradual re-allocation of resources. Based on the
turnover of clients (7,000 - 9,000 per year) it is possible to develop
annual targets for re-allocation of subsidies without affecting
the child care arrangements of any existing client.
Appendix 6.A
and 6.B contain two scenarios for ward subsidy ceilings for each
of the 44 wards for the period July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2002.
The first scenario assumes that the province will approve the
city's request for an additional 2,000 subsidies and that no re-allocation
of subsidies between wards will be necessary because all new subsidies
will be allocated to under-served wards. The second scenario assumes
that no new resources are forthcoming and therefore subsidies must
be moved among wards to achieve any progress toward equity. This
re-allocation will be achieved without displacing any existing child
from subsidized care since naturally occurring withdrawals are far
in excess of any reduction of spaces.
Special
Needs Resourcing
Analysis of the downloaded programs indicates that children with
special needs across the city have reasonably equitable access to
services and supports. Nevertheless some children and families travel
much longer distances to services than others. Consultations with
service providers also reveals the need for better information,
co-ordination of service access and removal of physical barriers
to access child care centres.
Implementation
Principles - Special Needs
- Children
with special needs should have access to a range of service options
in their community. In 2001, Children's Services staff will complete
an analysis of the location and utilization of resources and develop
a plan and timetable for achieving equity to be implemented in
2002.
- New expansion
funds will be used to promote increased accessibility to supports
for children in high-need areas in equitable fashion.
Family
Resource Programs
As Map 2 shows, funding for family resource activities (measured
by the city's expenditure per child) varies greatly across the city.
This pattern of inequitable funding has developed historically through
lack of planning and co-ordination among funders. In addition, some
program components are delivered by recreation providers or by Public
Health. It will take some time to determine the amount of funding
that is available to individual communities and exactly what services
are being provided. However, even at this point it is clear that
several wards are significantly under-served, and new funding will
be directed toward development of services in these areas.
Implementation
Principle - Expansion of Family Resource Programs
- Available
expansion funds will be used to develop family resource programs
in under-served areas. Emphasis will be on integrating family
resource and licensed child care programs wherever possible.
3.
8 Developing the Child Care Budget
The
city's annual budget cycle begins early each summer. In developing
the child care budget, the following factors must be considered:
- City Council
directions
- The existing
provincial-municipal service agreement
- Analysis
of service patterns, costs and user revenues
- Analysis
of purchase of service budgets
- Analysis
of needs
- Service plan
targets.
City
Council approves the budget in late April and when approved the
child care budget is then presented to the Regional Office of the
Ministry of Community and Social Services which reviews and adjusts
the budget according to its own criteria.
Following
provincial approval, the Children's Services Division informs the
Council about which parts of the budget have received provincial
funding and which did not. (NB: following the approval of this service
plan, the division will present revised service targets and equity
options for the following 12 months).
Current
Council Directions
Council provides direction through approval of initiatives proposed
either by the community (as expressed through bodies such as the
Children and Youth Action Committee and the Child Care Advisory
Committee), the department or in response to initiatives by other
levels of government. Since 1999, the directions have been set in
response to the findings of the annual Toronto Report Card on Children,
and the Children's Action Plan. Besides continuing with the existing
service delivery, the directions for 2001 include:
- Progress
toward payment of actual costs of service
- Preservation/expansion
of licensed child care system
- Expansion
of family resource programs
- Expansion
of services for children with special needs
- Continuing
retrofit of playgrounds
- Continuing
City support for the York Before- and After-School Programs
Most of the
Council-approved directions have cost implications and usually require
matching support from the Ministry of Community and Social Services.
In fact, all program expansion requests are usually approved subject
to provincial cost-sharing. Due to municipal and provincial budget
cycles, it is rarely possible to implement any new program initiative
before July of the year in which the funding is approved. However
this consideration does not apply to actual cost funding which can
be distributed on a retroactive basis back to January of the current
year. The child care budget as approved by the City of Toronto Council
on April 26 - May 1, 2001 is outlined on a high level in Chart 8.
Not included
in the overall budget allocation is a separate request by the City
Council to the province for cost-shared funding of 2,000 additional
subsidy spaces.
Existing
Provincial- Municipal Service Agreement
Provincial funding of the child care system is based on an annual
service contract between the Province of Ontario and the City of
Toronto. The service contract specifies fiscal commitments and service
level expectations for the coming year. As a result of provincial
regulation changes and constrained funding, the actual share that
the province is funding under the contract has been decreasing.
Given the increasing costs, the system is increasingly dependent
upon 100 per cent municipal funding, or funding from outside sources
such as revenue from STEP clients. In 2001, the base funding from
the Province must increase by at least $4.7 million or the existing
service level of 24,216 subsidized spaces cannot be maintained.
In 2000, the Consumer Price Index increased by 2.96 per cent. This
should translate to approximately $5.5 million increase on the approved
2000 provincial contribution of $184.5 million. Instead, the projected
base contribution has been adjusted downward to approximately $176.0
million, an $8.5 million reduction.
3.9
Provincial Funding in 2001
The city's
funding request to the Ministry of Community and Social Services
is divided into two major areas. The base budget request, which
includes the costs associated with the provision of 24,216 subsidy
spaces, annualization of costs associated with actual costs committed
in 2000 as well as a $4.0 million contribution towards the cost
of refurbishing or replacing playgrounds in order to meet provincial
licensing requirements.
The expansion
budget request contains $11.8 million for 2,000 new subsidies and
an additional $.8 million for expansion of special needs resourcing
and family resource programs as directed by Council on April 24
- May 2, 2001.The total request for provincial funding amounts to
$201.8 million for 2001.
The three-year
forecast, which is based on annual expansion of 2,000 subsidized
spaces, fourth and fifth year contributions towards the restoration
of actual cost of service, and an annual adjustment for anticipated
inflation is shown in Chart 9.
3.10 Capital
Funding
A
Brief History of Capital Funding
Capital funding
was formerly a mixture of government and private funding. However,
since 1995 the provincial government has not made any capital investments
in child care.
Even before
the end of provincial capital funding, very few stand-alone centres
were ever built and those that were, were mainly constructed by
government on government-owned land. Private developers (including
housing co-ops) have in the past built child care facilities as
a part of larger developments either on their own or as a part of
development agreements. While limiting flexibility somewhat, this
kind of construction is usually more efficient because it allows
infrastructure costs to be shared.
The city (in
the form of the previous Metro government) has a long history of
developing new child care spaces either on its own, in partnership
with other levels of government or with private industry.
Available
Capital Strategies
There are a number of ways that development of new child care spaces
can be supported, however, most of them require some level of government
funding. The city is interested in developing additional capacity
to serve the youngest children. The cost of developing infant spaces
is much higher that any other type of spaces because infants require
separate play and sleep areas. Even renovations of existing space
presents challenges as compared to accommodation for older age groups.
In order to ensure that any capital expenditures are made in as
effective a manner as possible and in accordance with the provisions
of the service plan, a capital plan identifying development priorities
and target areas will be prepared subsequent to the approval of
this document.
The city can
support the development of new child care spaces through many different
avenues:
- The Child
Care Capital Reserve Fund-The purpose of the fund is to protect
the existing supply of spaces and to provide for development of
new spaces in support of the equity provisions of the approved
service plan. The reserve fund which was originally funded by
excess user fees (i.e. user fees not required to support the approved
service levels) has in recent years been funded through any unspent
city contribution to cost-shared child care programs. Additionally
in 2000, City Council approved an annual contribution of $320,000
through the operating budget. However, during the 2001 budget
approval process, the Council deferred the planned contribution
until the 2002 budget year. Currently the uncommitted fund balance
stands at $7.8 million, with an additional $1.7 million held in
reserve for previously approved projects. According to the city's
expenditure by-law, any projects to be paid for from this fund
require specific Council approval.
- Loan
Guarantees- Over the last decade, the city has provided loan
guarantees to several non-profit organizations throughout Toronto
to assist with expansion or development of new services. Generally,
to qualify for a loan guarantee, the proposal must support the
objectives of the service plan and demonstrate financial viability.
Agencies repay the cost of a commercial loan through user fees
over a period of time. In order to secure its interest in the
loan, the city usually insists on security of tenancy and a level
of fiscal reporting above and beyond the usual requirements of
subsidy contracts.
- Section
37 and Developmental Agreements- In the growth areas of Toronto
it is sometimes possible through developmental agreements to secure
funding or actually build a facility within large scale commercial
buildings. Through experience it has been found that the most
successful facilities concentrate on infant, toddler and pre-kindergarten
children, essentially serving as workplace child care facilities.
It is important to ensure that these facilities are built on a
sufficient scale to maintain financial viability.
Occasionally,
development of new child care centres comes as a result of employers'
attempts to retain skilled employees who might otherwise leave the
labour force for a prolonged period after the birth of their children.
This kind of development, though welcome, is very rare. Recently the
provincial government announced a tax measure to assist employers
to contribute toward development of child care facilities.
Principles
for Allocation of Funding from the Child Care Capital Reserve Fund
1. Subject to
upholding the equity, accountability and operating effectiveness
principles of the service plan, the Child Care Capital Reserve Fund
may be used for the following types of projects:
- Relocation
of child care centres that lose tenure due to closure of schools
or other publicly operated facilities
- Renovations
for the purpose of operating a more efficient child care site
- Renovations
for the purpose of introducing or enlarging the infant component
to a child care centre
- Development
of new child care facilities, either stand-alone facilities or
those integrated into larger developments.
2. Funding can
be made available to non-profit or municipal child care agencies
subject to the following restrictions:
- Resulting
programs must be financially viable
- The operators
must provide an agreement for security of tenure or a proportional
repayment of the capital grant in case of loss of tenure
- Priority
for funding will be assigned to programs caring primarily for
subsidized children located in areas designated as under-served
in the service plan, or areas with high proportion of at-risk
children.
3. The service
plan and its annual update will identify areas in need of new licensed
child care spaces. Children's Services will issue an annual request
for proposals to generate new service capacity with the aid of the
Child Care Capital Reserve Fund.
4. Although
the purpose of the fund is to promote the growth in licensed child
care spaces, priority and additional funding may be given to projects
that build on synergies gained through integration of services.
5. The Child
Care Capital Reserve Fund may not be used for the purpose of building
or renovating stand-alone, single-use, school-age space.
6. The Child
Care Capital Reserve Fund may be used as a revolving fund which
grants loans to the operators to be repaid through user revenue.
3.11
Guidelines for Community Action Plans
What
are Community Action Plans
The community action plan is a result of a process which brings
together all stakeholders including parents, service providers and
the community at large for the purpose of developing an implementation
plan for child care services within the parameters and vision embodied
in the city-wide service Plan.
Defining
a community
The task of defining distinct communities within the contiguous
urban areas is not an easy one, even less so when a degree of precision
is required. There are not many clearly defined areas such as the
Lakeshore in Etobicoke or the Flemingdon Park area in North York.
The planning areas have to make sense; that means that sometimes,
for the purpose of development of community action plans, wards
should be aggregated into larger areas such as East Toronto (incl.
Wards 29, 30, 31 & 32).
For practical
and accountability purposes, resources are allocated to each of
the 44 City wards on the basis of the principles defined in the
equity section. However this does not pre-empt the need to look
at smaller areas because of their geography or the nature of the
community. Wherever possible information will be made available
for smaller areas as defined through the planning process. Subsequently
resources may be allocated on the basis of those smaller areas as
well.
Implementation
Principles - Community Action Plans
- Community
action plans will focus on implementing overall direction of the
service plan which is based on current knowledge, research and
city-wide expectations. Local plans are about finding the best
way of implementing this framework and not about setting
or amending the city's child care vision.
- The
City's Children's Strategy and the Child Care Service Plan focus
on equitable outcomes for children and families, not on equal
allocation of city's resources. This means that for community
planning process a thorough assessment of community assets is
required; these include investment by other funders such as the
United Way, various foundations and the federal government.
- The planning
process must focus on cross-sectoral integration and inclusion
of all children and families.
- Ensuring
maximum possible accountability and effectiveness of services
must be an integral part of the planning process
- Participation
of related sectors including, but not limited to, Libraries, Parks
and Recreation and, Public Health is essential to successful development
of community action plans.
Priorities for Development of Community
Action Plans
Municipal and community resources are not sufficient to proceed
with the development of action plans in all wards at the same time.
It is therefore necessary to select those areas where the need is
high. In general these are wards that are significantly below the
equity level for child care subsidies and where no spare capacity
for expansion exists. Generally it takes approximately two years
to bring new spaces on line and, therefore, the community planning
should be undertaken in those areas first. However, the fact that
a community action plan might not be fully in place should not preclude
service development (licensed childcare, family resource centres
and special needs programs) where the implementation principles
of this service plan are met. Also, wards that are significantly
above their equity level will be considered for an early action
plan implementation in the event of lack of expansion funding.
The
first wave of development of community action plans should include
under-served wards 41, 39, 16, 23, 14 and, over-served wards 42,
27, 11, 44, 43.
3.12
Conclusion
This service plan
document has reviewed the city's service planning history, provided
an overview of the service management principles and policies currently
in use, and presented a profile of the range and level of current
child care services available. This service profile has been analyzed
within the context of the city's needs and a three-year action plan
which addresses service gaps, inequities and inadequacies has been
proposed.
As discussed
throughout the document there are many service issues to be addressed
over the next few years; including the plan for school-age care,
exploration of models of supervised home child care delivery and
the development of community action plans. This document will be
updated on annual basis as a part of the municipal and provincial
budgeting cycle.
Appendices
| |
|
APPENDIX
5 - MINUTES OF SERVICE PLANNING MEETINGS
|
|
Focus Groups
|
| Special Needs - Standards
of Service |
| Special Needs - Service
Equity |
| Family Resource Programs
- Access and Units of Services Measurements |
| Family Resource Programs
- Budget Guidelines |
| Home Child Care -
Funding |
| Home Child Care -
Access |
| Actual Costs - Wage
Subsidy |
| Actual Costs - Budget
& Financial Accountability |
| Francophone Community
- Service Equity Group |
| Native Aboriginal
Working Group |
| |
|
Integration Forum - April
20, 2001
|
| Special Needs - Program
Supports |
| Special Needs - Funding
Supports |
| Home Child Care &
Family Resource |
| Integration |
| |
|
APPENDIX
6 - EQUITY TARGETS
|
| 6.A |
Subsidy
Ceilings Based on 26,216 Subsidies |
| 6.B |
Subsidy
Ceilings Based on 24,216 Subsidies |
APPENDIX
7 - COMPENDIUM OF IMPLEMENTATION PRINCIPLES
Integration
of Services
- Children's
Services, through the local service planning process and its operating
policies and practices, will ensure that existing and new services
reflect the principles of the Children's Strategy. To this end,
Children's Services will ensure that service development and service
contracts promote integrated, efficient and accountable services.
Accountability
- The payment
of adequate staff salaries and the provision of professional development
opportunities for staff and boards of directors encourages positive
service outcomes for children and families.
- Caregiver
rates should be structured to adequately reflect costs, training,
hours of care and to provide an incentive for providers to stay
in regulated home child care.
Actual Costs
- Child
care programs should be paid their actual costs, including recognition
of administrative costs
- Operators
should submit budgets that reflect their costs of doing business.
- Budgets
will be reviewed against a common set of guidelines.
Equitable
Allocation of Child Care Subsidies
- For planning
and allocation purposes, resources are allocated on the basis
of the number of children in a ward who live in families with
incomes below the Statistics Canada Low Income Cut-Off (LICO)
as a proportion of all children in the City of Toronto who live
in families with incomes below the LICO.
Age Equity
- Allocation
of subsidies to each ward and subsidy grants to clients are subject
to the individual age group ceilings: 15 per cent infant, 15 per
cent toddler, 45 per cent pre-school and 25 per cent school age.
- Every
attempt will be made to fill all vacant licensed infant and toddler
spaces.
Equity
for Population-Based Services
- For planning
and allocation purposes, the service plan proposes that resources
be allocated to each ward on a per capita basis for special needs
resourcing programs and family resource programs.
Supports
for High Needs
- Child
care providers serving children in high-need areas will be afforded
protection and support through the following measures:
- Lower
optimal capacity than the usual 98 per cent (to be negotiated
on an individual basis)
- Better
teacher-child ratios where warranted
- Support
of re-adjustment of salary costs to accommodate all trained staff
Aboriginal
& francophone programs
- Aboriginal
and francophone programs are able to locate in any area of the
City of Toronto without consideration to the service levels provided
by other child care operators.
Investing
in equity
- Future
capital and operating investments should promote, rather than
hinder the achievement of equity.
Surplus wage
subsidies
- Surplus
wage subsidies will be used to promote the age and geographical
equity targets of the service plan
Special Needs
- Children
with special needs should have access to a range of service options
in their community. In 2001, Children's Services staff will complete
an analysis of the location and utilization of resources and develop
a plan and timetable for achieving equity to be implemented in
2002.
- New expansion
funds will be used to promote increased accessibility to supports
for children in high-need areas in equitable fashion.
Expansion
of Family Resource Programs
- Available
expansion funds will be used to develop family resource programs
in under-served areas. Emphasis will be on integrating family
resource and licensed child care programs wherever possible.
Community
Action Plans
-
Community
action plans will focus on implementing overall direction of
the Service Plan which is based on current knowledge, research
and city-wide expectations. Local plans are about finding the
best way of implementing this framework; and not about
setting / amending the City's child care vision.
-
The City's
Children's Strategy and the Child Care Service Plan focus on
equitable outcomes for children and families, not on equal allocation
of city resources. This means that for community planning process
a thorough assessment of community assets is required; these
include investment by other funders such as the United Way various
foundations and the federal government.
-
The planning
process must focus on cross-sectoral integration and inclusion
of all children and families.
-
Ensuring
maximum possible accountability and effectiveness of services
must be an integral part of the planning process
-
Participation
of related sectors including, but not limited to, Libraries,
Parks and Recreation and, Public Health is essential to successful
development of community action plans.
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