REGINA – A new CD should help in the public education battle to obtain rural child care, says a consultant who worked on the project.
Child Care: We’re Worth It was released June 3 at a national conference of child-care advocates in Regina. It was developed by Carol Gott and Jane Wilson, consultants who received federal funding to help advance public child care. Under their Rural Voices organization, the pair has written briefs and argued for child care that works for farm and rural families.
“The concepts in the CD don’t represent the view of every rural resident, but we hope it initiates debate and action to strengthen rural child care,” Gott told the conference.
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The CD suggests several reasons why rural families need organized child care:
- The majority of mothers with pre-school children work off the farm.
- Extended family members who babysat in past generations are also working.
- Rural communities looking to survive need to attract young families.
The 18 minute video also discusses myths of child care and what is needed for quality day care.Wilson said the next stage is to distribute the 7,000 CDs to individuals and organizations. Those who would like a copy can contact her by e-mail at ruralvoices@kmts.ca or phone 807-548-2114.
Win Young, deputy minister for the Saskatchewan government department in charge of child care, said rural needs are great and “we know the answers are around flexibility and creativity.”
The federal government announced last year it would spend $5 billion on child care over the next five years. It wanted to set up a national child-care system but when provinces objected, Ottawa began signing agreements with individual provinces to deliver money. Saskatchewan and Manitoba have both signed.
