June 30, 1998
To:Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee
From:City Clerk
Subject:CHILD CARE STATUS: RESEARCH PROJECT
Recommendation:
The Children's Action Committee recommended to the Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee that
Council endorse the Child Care Status Research Project and authorize a contribution of $5,000 to the overall budget for
the project; such funds to be paid out from the Children's Action Committee Budget, Account Code CD200-G39951.
Background:
At its meeting held on June 12, 1998, the Children's Action Committee had before it a communication (undated) from
Mr. Peter Clutterbuck, Co-Director, Community Social Planning Council regarding the Child Care Status Research
Project.
Peter Clutterbuck gave an overview of the project.
The Children's Action Committee advises the Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee that it has requested
that the Working Group include representation from the Commercial Sector, the Non-Profit Sector, Special Needs, and
Licensed Home Child Care.
The Committee's recommendation is set out above.
City Clerk
cc:Shirley Hoy, Commissioner of Community and Social Services
Marna Ramsden, General Manager, Children's Services
Peter Clutterbuck
Nancy Matthews, Coordinator, Children's Action Committee
Councillor Chow, Chair, Children's Action Committee
980612.3
COMMUNITY SOCIAL PLANNING COUNCIL
OF TORONTO
Phone (416) 351-0095
FAX (416) 351-0107
MEMORANDUM
TO:Olivia Chow, Children and Youth Advocate
Children's Action Committee
FROM:Peter Clutterbuck, Co-Director
Community Social Planning Council of Toronto
SUBJECT:Child Care Status Research Project
______________________________________________________________________________
Attached is a research proposal developed by Martha Friendly, Caroline DiGiovanni, Cheryl McDonald, Petr Varmuza,
Nancy Matthews and me for consideration by the Children's Action Committee. We believe that this project is an
important and timely one from a number of perspectives. The current restructuring and persistent budget pressures make
1998 a critically important year in establishing a baseline against which to measure the accessibility and quality of child
care in the City. It is an opportunity to begin developing a means of tracking and measuring change in the system and
assessing the impacts of policy and budget decisions. Although the research will not be available for this year's report
card, in future years this will be an important piece of work to feed into the report card.
The purpose of the project is to develop baseline data on the status of child care in Toronto and set up the mechanisms
to track and measure change in the acessibility and quality of child care in Toronto in the future. The first study will be
released by the end of 1998.
There are number of forms that child care takes in the City including the formal, licensed child care programs like child
care centres, unlicensed formal programs, such as boys and girls clubs, and unlicensed, unregulated relationships
between parents and relatives or unrelated individuals, such as nannies. It is proposed that this first study focus on the
formal licensed child care programs and a reasonable sampling of the unlicensed formal programs. To the extent
possible, the range and number of unregulated, informal relationships will also be explored.
Much of the data for this first study will be obtained through the existing Children's Services Division data base and
information obtained during staff assessments of child care programs. As well, samplings of unlicensed, informal
programs and a review of existing data on the informal, unlicensed system would be done.
This project will be a partnership of a number of organizations concerned about child care in the City. However, it is
proposed that the lead sponsorship for the project will be through the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto,
with the report being produced jointly between the CSPC-T and the Children's Action Committee.
The City's Children's Services Division is prepared to make its information systems available and collect some
additional information through field staff assessments. However, a dedicated research staff is necessary to complete the
research design, coordinate research activities, and assimilate and analyse the data.
A budget of $30,975.00 has been established to support this project. Funding is being sought from a number of sources,
including foundations and the federal government. The CSPC-T is prepared to contribute $5,000.00 of research staff
time to the Project. It is requested that the Children's Action Committee provide $5,000.00 to support this initiative.
Concurrent with this project, it is also recommended that the Children's Action Committee support a review of the
policy, funding and status of child care in other provinces, such as Quebec, and in other countries such as England and
France. The purpose of this would be to have information available to provide a comparative analysis of the state of the
Toronto child care system with other jurisdictions. The research group is currently working on the details of this project,
including budget and timelines.
PETER CLUTTERBUCK
Co-Director
Community Social Planning Council
Research Project on the Status of Child Care in Toronto
Rationale:
Child care in Ontario is undergoing major restructuring as the Province devolves responsibility for managing the system
to municipalities in Ontario. The demands of Ontario Works on parents receiving social assistance will place additional
pressure on the child care system. The recently announced school funding formula also threatens the stability of many
school-based child care programs, which are facing higher rents or relocation to higher cost premises.
Throughout the last decade, however, Metro Toronto established itself as a leader in the development of quality child
care programs. Municipal budget pressures have stressed the child care system in the 1990s, leading to cost cutting and
higher user fees. Still, major program losses have been avoided. It is now clear that the scale of change presented by
current restructuring and other provincial action will make 1998 a critically important year in terms of maintaining the
accessibility and quality of child care in the new City of Toronto.
The status of child care in Toronto must be documented this year in order to provide baseline information against which
to compare the impact of policy and resource changes in the coming years. This research project would establish this
baseline data and set up the mechanisms by which to track and measure change in the accessibility and quality of child
care in Toronto in the future.
Research Objectives:
Tha Status of Child Care in Toronto Research Project proposes:
1.to document the accessibility and quality of child care programs in the City of Toronto in 1998;
2.To produce and release a baseline report on the status of child care in Toronto by year end (1998); and
3.to set up a child care data base and data collection system that will allow annual monitoring of the impact of policy
and funding changes on the accessibility and quality of child care in Toronto.
Scope of the Research:
We recognize that child care in the 1990s takes a variety of forms:
- Licensed, regulated and formal child care programs (centres or provider-based), day programs and nursery schools
that encompass operations run directly by the municipality, by non-profit community boards, and by commercial
services providers.
- Unlicensed but formal programs operated by community-based agencies such as family resource centres and boys and
girls clubs, school boards, libraries, and municipal recreation departments.
- Unlicensed and unregulated informal child care arrangements between parents and relatives or unrelated individuals
(in-home or in the provider's residence).
For the purposes of this first research study, we proposed that a focus on full coverage of the licensed and regulated
formal child care programs and a reasonable sampling of the unlicensed, formal programs. The 1998 baseline report will
specify as necessary any limitations on interpreation of the baseline data arising from sampling methods. Ultimately, the
study should be expanded to include unlicensed, unregulated child care arrangements. However, the degree of outreach
and the sophistication of data collection methods for comprehensive coverage are beyond our means at this time.
Status Indicators:
Preliminary consideration of the areas to be covered in the child care database and suggested status indicators include:
: auspices; location; physical condition; hours, days; amount of exclusive space; use of shared
space.
- Staffing: number of staff (FTE, PT, casual), student placements; volunteers (parents, others); resource teachers;
non-teaching/program staff (administrative, housekeeping, other); employment program staff; staff turnover; staff
pre-service training; staff preptime; staff meetings; staff experience level (e.g. combined years of service); personnel
policies; professional development/ongoing training.
- Accessibility: number of spaces by age group; number of subsidized children (full, part-time); number of full fee
children; average vacancy rate.
- User Characteristics: one, two parent families; family income; parents' status in terms of employed/unemployed/in
training/in school; first language; parents' occupation(s); special needs children; child turnover.
- Program Finances: financial contributions; in-kind contributions; actual costs; amount of full fee; debt.
- Quality: nutrition; equipment and materials; program activity.
Data Sources and Research Methods:
There is an existing data base upon which to build a more comprehensive picture of the status of child care in Toronto.
As manager of the subsidized child care system, the City's Children's Services Division has statistics on its own
programs and on programs with purchase of service agreements for subsidy for 1998 and years prior. The City will
assume responsibility for the child care system in 1998 and, therefore, will have access to more comprehensive data on
the broader formal licensed system in the future.
City staff do assessments of each child care program with purchase of service agreements at least three times a year,
which also creates an opportunity to collect data on additional quality measures for this research project.
Sampling of other licensed child care programs and of unlicensed formal programs, such as family resource centres and
programs in libraries and recreation centres, could also be done. Sampling could be used for self-administered surveys,
interviews, and program observation.
Given the time frame for production of a baseline report by year end, we propose that a research design be developed
that collects data from the following three sources:
1.Quantitative data that the Children's Services Division has on relevant indicators in its existing information systems.
2.Supplementary data on relevant indicators collected by City staff assessments on programs in the field.
3.Self-administered survey information mailed to as complete a list as can be assembled of unlicensed, formal programs
operating in the community.
4.Sample of licensed and unlicensed programs for interviews with program administrators.
The City's Children's Services Division is prepared to make its information systems available for this research and to
collect some additional information through its existing staff field assessments. The Division could also provide support
for the design of a child care data base for annual tracking purposes on the selected quality indicators. Dedicated
research staff will be necessary, however, to complete design of the research project, to coordinate research activities,
including the survey and interview components, and to assimilate and analyze the data accumulated.
Research Products
By the end of 1998 the Status of Child Care in Toronto Research Project will produce:
- A baseline report on the status of child care in Toronto in 1998 with some indication of change for some indicators
prior to 1998 for which there is comparative data.
- A child care data base for Toronto that can be further developed in future years and can be used to measure changes in
the accessibility and quality of child care in Toronto in the coming years.
- Research methods and tools (e.g. survey and interview instruments and protocols) for use and adaptation in future
years.
Project Sponsorship and Guidance:
This research project will be a partnership of a number of organizations concerned about the quality of child care in
Toronto. The lead organization, however, in terms of project sponsorship and contracting with research staff will be the
Community Social Planning Council of Toronto (CSPC). The CSPC will produce and release the report in conjunction
with the City of Toronto's Children's Action Committee. The support of all organizations contributing time or funding
support to the project will be acknowledged in the baseline report.
A Research Project Reference Group will be created to guide the project and to provide support to the research staff.
The Reference Group will be made up of representatives from:
- Community Social Planning Council of Toronto
- City of Toronto Children's Services Division
- Children's Action Committee of the City of Toronto
- Better Child Care Coalition of Metro Toronto
- University of Toronto Child Care Resources Centre
- Catholic Children's Aid Society
- Family Resource Centres of Metro Toronto
- City of Toronto Department of Recreation
- Toronto District School Board & Toronto Separate School Board
Representatives from most of the above organizations have participated in the development of this research project to
this point. Others will be invited to join the reference group.
Timeline for Project Activity:
May-June
- Explore and secure funding support
- Complete construction of Project Reference Group
- Set up project management
- Recruit research coordinator
July-August
- Complete research design
- Develop research tools and protocols
- Orient/train data collection and field research staff
September
October
- Data analysis
- Reports and review with Reference Group
- Draft baseline report
November-December
- Production and public release of Report on the Status of Child Care in Toronto
- Final data base set up for future tracking on child care status
- Compilation of research protocol and instruments with recommendations for refinements
- Reports to funders
Budget and Additional Funding Required:
In addition to the Children's Services Division's commitment of data base and field staff and the contributions of time
and expertise of the organizations participating in the Project Reference Group, the following resources are required to
conduct this research project:
Research Coordinator (June - December, 1998)
.6 FTE @ $55,000 p.a. plus 15%$ 18,975
Research Assistants (e.g. field interviewers, interview transcription,
survey data inputting) 8,000
Report Production and Distribution 3,000
Administrative Expenses (e.g. Photocopying, fax, transit for field
workers) 1,000
_______
Total Project Funding Required $ 30,975
Revised May 19, 1998
