“It Is Almost Impossible to Get a Spot When You Need It”: Understanding Parental Knowledge and Experiences of Canada’s New Child Care Policy

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 4:20 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Early Childhood Education Programs and Practices (Table 4)

Abstract

Canada has implemented a new child care policy that aims to reduce the cost of child care to $10/day. However, prior implementation of similar policies saw inequalities in who benefits. This mixed methods study examines the knowledge and experiences of the new policy from 1341 parents with young children. A total of 72.18% of parents had heard about the policy. Benefits parents reported were largely around cost (41.9%). Challenges were largely around access to care (41.76%), including long waitlists (23.14%). Concerns around CWELCC was also related to parental mental health (i.e., stress, anxiety, and depression). Binary logistic regressions found differences in knowledge and experiences with the policy, based on family characteristics. Implications for future research and policy were discussed.

Authors

• Samantha Burns, University of Guelph

• Esther Yu, University of Toronto - OISE

• Jesseca Perlman, University of Toronto - OISE

• Kashish Kahlon, University of Waterloo

• Michal Perlman, University of Toronto - OISE