Prioritizing Daycare for Children of Working Parents: Tackling Inequality and Improving Access

2023-09-13 05:16:00

“All children of working parents should be able to attend daycare,” said Sammy Mahdi. In theory, this priority already exists. But in practice, it is not always applied. Some reception centers reserve places for less well-off families or single parents. But for Sammy Mahdi, “the subject can be studied. “

This idea also finds fans among French speakers, notably in the person of Georges-Louis Bouchez. The president of the MR believes that the current system disadvantages the children of workers.

“We must of course reserve places for children from backgrounds where education is not guaranteed. But for the rest, we must prioritize the children of workers.”, he judges. “Rather than free five days a week for job seekers, we might reserve a certain number of days which might be used for job interviews or training days,” he suggests.

“It’s never seen before”: the closures of nurseries, this scourge which has already affected 2,000 families in three years

“We have to be honest, in the current system, those who have the least time to look following their children are penalized. It is not normal. Furthermore, unemployed people who have interviews every day will not remain unemployed for very long.”

The president of the MR is therefore proposing a system where job seekers must provide proof to obtain a place in a crèche when they have a job interview or follow training.

On the question of the lack of places in crèches in Wallonia (in 2020, there were on average 38 places for 100 children of crèche age), the president of the MR appears fatalistic. “There is a good chance that we will always lack places because we are faced with such a need that it will not be possible to meet all the requests.”

The president of the MR also proposes entrusting social workers with the role of “identifying the least stable environments and where it is essential that children be removed from their families for a few days for their well-being”. “I am thinking, for example, of the case of a family of five children where four children have already been placed. It would be logical for the fifth to benefit from special attention and be given priority to have a place in crèche,” he explains.

Good news, the price of crèches will fall: “The new prices will be fairer”

However, Georges-Louis Bouchez’s position is not unanimous. “The real problem is the lack of places. There, we are trying to reverse the problem to make it bear the responsibility of a category of the population. The measure may seem logical but it is very petty,” denounces Yves Martens, spokesperson for the Solidarité contre l’exclusion collective.

“The principle of social security is solidarity between employed and unemployed workers. In addition, having a place in a daycare center is essential for availability on the job market,” he believes.

1694585946
#Places #expensive #nurseries #Working #parents #priority