【A Policy Has Been Realized! 】The “Childcare Access for All System” Bill has Finally Been Enacted! What Progress Have We Made with Our Proposal and Wh
On June 5th, 2024, “the bill to partially revise laws such as the Act on Child and Childcare Support” which includes establishing the “childcare access for all system” passed the Upper House plenary session, and the bill was enacted!
“Nursery schools” which have been available only to working parents and their children until now will finally become “a place for all children”!!!!!
We did it!!!!!
Today, I would like to discuss the progress of Florence’s policy proposal until the realization of the “childcare access for all system” as well as challenges that must be overcome in the future to make the system meaningful!
【The progress Florence has made with the “nursery school for all concept”】
Since 2021, we at Florence have been working hard to propose the “nursery school for all concept” which would allow children not attending nursery schools or other daycare centers to attend nursery schools too.
In June 2022, we conducted a large-scale survey of families with children not attending nursery schools or kindergartens.
The survey revealed that families with children not attending nursery schools or kindergartens tend to feel isolated in child-rearing, and that there is demand among such families for their children to attend daycare centers on a regular basis. We also held a press conference to appeal for regular access to nursery schools for families with children not attending preschool that are isolated from society.
(*Please see the previous Florence News article listed below for more details:
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*Results released for “National Survey on Feelings of Isolation and Needs for Regular Childcare of Families with Children Who Do Not Attend Nursery Schools”. From nursery schools for working parents to nursery schools for all children!
At the same time, “Ouchi Nursery School Kashiwagi” in Sendai City which is run by Florence started its own regular childcare service for children not attending nursery schools or kindergartens (preschoolers) while using the temporary childcare system.?
In addition, in FY2023, we were selected as an operator of a model project for the “childcare access for all system” and have continued to practice regular childcare for children not attending nursery schools or kindergartens in Nakano City and Shibuya City in Tokyo and Sendai City in Miyagi Prefecture.
We have also participated as a member of the Children and Families Agency’s conference on the “childcare access for all system” (tentative name), and have delivered the results of our surveys and the voices of the people in the field to the government.
*Please see below for more details on the surveys conducted by Florence:
On this occasion of the bill passing through, I would like to take this opportunity to say this once again.
To all the child-rearing families who cooperated in the survey, to all the childcare providers nationwide,
To all the childcare industry organizations that have worked together to make proposals,
To the politicians who have listened to us and worked to establish this system,
Thank you very, very much!!!!!
【The 3 challenges we must overcome to make this system a meaningful one】
On the other hand, we still face some challenges with the “childcare access for all system”.
Now, I would like to explain the 3 challenges that need to be overcome to improve this system!
１．Expansion of daycare hours
The first challenge is “opening hours”.
Although it will expand to “over 10 hours per month” from April 2026,?
at the moment, until FY2025, there would be a limit of “up to 10 hours per month”.
This “10 hours per month” criteria.
To be honest, this is nowhere near enough time for children to get used to daycare facilities, or for childcare workers to build a trusting relationship with parents and children!!
In order to be with the children properly during their growth, and to reduce the physical and psychological burden of the parents, we would like to see an early introduction of a system that allows children to receive daycare for 10 hours or more per month.
2．A design that does not leave behind children with disabilities, including children with medical care
The next challenge I would like to mention is that “home-visit type childcare for disabled children” is about to be left out of this system.
The “childcare access for all system” is expected to be implemented at facilities such as nurseries, certified childcare centers, small-sized nursery schools, home daycare services, kindergartens, local childcare support centers, and child development support centers.
In fact, for some reason, “home-visit type childcare” is excluded.
“Home-visit type childcare” is a system in which daycare workers visit the homes of children with disabilities or children with medical care who are unable to commute to nursery school and provide care for such children.
There are many children who “want to go to nursery school but cannot” due to nursery schools refusing to accept them or the risk of infectious diseases.
Children with disabilities who are unable to go to nursery school or use other daycare services tend to be left at home with their parents.
Parents of children with disabilities have difficulty finding work.
This is exactly why we wait for childcare access for all system so eagerly…!
The “childcare access for all system” should be for all children in the first place.
We will continue to raise our voices so that “children with disabilities” as well as “children with medical care” do not get excluded from this system.
３. Improvements of staffing ratio to avoid overwhelming childcare facilities
And finally, we must not forget the burden placed on childcare facilities.
Staffing ratio of childcare workers has been an issue troubling childcare facilities for a long time.
In fact, Japan has one of the lowest “staffing ratios of childcare workers” among developed countries, resulting in each childcare worker being responsible for far too many children.
In order to improve the quality of childcare, the staffing ratio of childcare workers for 4-year-olds and 5-year-olds has been revised from “1 childcare worker for every 30 children” to “1 childcare worker for every 25 children” starting from FY2024.
This is the first revision in 76 years, and the improvement itself is commendable.
However!!!
This improvement is still small, and it will not completely eliminate the burden on site.
We believe that we need to focus on both the establishment of the “childcare access for all system” as well as the “improvement of staffing ratios of childcare workers”.
【In order to make the “childcare access for all system” an even better system】
We at Florence will continue to raise our voices to improve the “childcare access for all system”, sharing issues and solutions in the field with the national and local governments, aiming for a society where all children can enjoy high-quality childcare and no one is left on their own raising their child!
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We kindly ask for your warm support!
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We have uploaded a video explaining the “childcare access for all system”.
In this video, we discuss the history of the nursery school system in Japan as well as the significance of the childcare access for all system!
Please take a look!