Dear Minister Bond:

The throne speech announced the creation of an agency to explore the possibility of full day kindergarten for children ages 3-5.

We ask that the money set aside for this be delivered to parents to help pay for our child care and early learning work and expenses. BC has one of the highest numbers of children with family incomes below the "Low Income Cut-Off". We provide ourselves and also use many forms of care/learning, both paid and unpaid. Group all-day settings are only one option.

Putting massive resources into "underutilized" schools would be a grave disservice to children and their families and would bleed resources from every other learning/care form.

Policy should be evidence-based and in the "best interests of the child":

• The research from HELP, Statistics Canada,the NICHD and many other sources shows either no benefit from licensed care forms, no lasting benefit, or negative effects.
  
  
• "High quality" child care was NOT shown to alleviate negative behavioural effects in the US NICHD study as HELP staff have erroneously stated. Lasting (to gr 6 at least) negative behavioural outcomes were shown for centre-based care ONLY regardless of "quality". Please contact Dr Jay Belsky for clarification and data:
  
  Jay Belsky j.belsky@bbk.ac.uk
  Phone: (0)20-7079-0835
  Fax: (0)20-7323-4735
  Mobile: 07855309186
  
  
• High quality care was least often found in group settings and most often in father/relative/family-like settings. Low quality care is the norm in licensed group care in Canada, US, Sweden.
  
  
• Research cited by Gillian Doherty shows that existing daycare staff:child ratios mean over 50% of children do not receive adequate care or developmental opportunities. Ratios would be even worse in a school setting making low quality even lower.
  
  
• Health researchers find rates of illness/infection very much higher in group care settings. Daycares have been called, "the open sewers of the 20th century" by a US epidemiologist. "Super bugs" have been found in these settings. These large health/medical costs must be factored in to any meaningful feasibility study.
  
  Policy should also be democratic. Your administrative staff over the phone said this is "just an idea", however:
  
  
  • The Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) at UBC has shared this information in their newsletter under the title "Universal 'Child Care' Coming".
    
    
  • The Provincial Child Care Council has already discussed this.
    
    
  • "Integrating" kindergarten with daycare in schools is not "just an idea" but has been discussed and worked towards nationally at least since 2005.
    
    
  • Ontario has announced plans for full day schooling for 4-5 year-olds
    
    
  • No polls show parents prefer that public funds for young children's care and learning go to schools/services rather directly than to families.

1. Who will the "investment" be paid to?
2. Who will be in the proposed agency?
3. How can we be included in it?
4. What options other than full day kindergarten for 3-5 are being included for discussion?
5. What plans do you have for making policy for young children both evidence-based and democratically formulated?
6. What are your plans for including parents as parents on the agency?
7. How will you ensure unfunded parents can participate on an equal footing in the agency?