Public Policy & Private Delivery: The Puzzle of Public-Private Partnerships for Childcare

1. Public Policy & Private Delivery:The Puzzle of Public-Private Partnerships for Childcare Susan Prentice Sociology, University of Manitoba, Canada “The Mixed Economy of Childcare: Risks and Opportunities” International Centre for the Study of the Mixed Economy of Childcare September 10, 2007 University of East London

2. Chantel Patterson, age 22, and son Israel, 6 age months, in 2005 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

3. Hopper’s Crossing, Australia

4. Quality Considerations • Canadian overview: • Summary: Everywhere, non-profits produce a higher quality of care” • Advantage about 10 percent, after controlling • US • Quality advantage to not-for-profit overall • Yet, poorer quality care in church/faith-based sub-sector • Australia • Staff perceptions of quality within not-for-profit, small chain and corporate childcare

5. Overall Quality Concerns • Canada • “physically safe environments with caring, supportive adults are the norm in the majority of centres. However,… the majority of the centres in Canada are providing care that is minimal to mediocre..” • UK • Of all childcare settings, 4 percent are inadequate, and 39% at lowest passing grade (‘satisfactory’)

6. Regulations & Compliance • Shaping the regulatory environment • Domains, targets and effectiveness of the commercial and not-for-profit lobbies • Historical authority • Respective role in framing policy discourser • Regulatory Compliance • Manitoba - 1988 - 2004: 90 percent not-for-profit provincially • Licensing orders (N=43): • Non-profit rate: 0.23 percent annually • For-profit rate: 3.9 percent annually • Suspension and refusals (N = 5) • 100 percent for-profit

7. ECE Labour Force • US • 752nd of 770 professions by pay • 30% overall turnover rate (45% in commercial chains; 35% in independent for-profits) • Agenda • Wages and benefits, training, quality by finely-grained auspice • Publicly-delivered childcare • Cross-national studies

8. Public-Private Co-production • Supply of spaces determined by market • Market is small, services scarce • Space for 15% of children in Canada • Frustrated political capacity • “an early learning and care system for the 21st century”

9. Public-Private Partnership • Stable architecture • Lessons for new privatizing domains? • Ethical audit • Access & territorial justice • Distributional effects • Access & ‘widening participation’ • Stratification effects

10. Financial Accountability Financial • Demand and supply-side financing • Tax system • Trade agreements • Corporate concentration • Private profits largely derived from public funding • “…The child care business is the best business I’ve ever seen in my life. The government pays subsidies, the parents pay you two weeks in advance, and property prices keep going up.”

11. Political Accountability • Democratic accountability and governance • Representational structures • Conflicts of interest • ABC example: close links to Liberal party • Public, or merit, good

12. Content and context for the puzzle of public-private partnerships under neo-liberalism Bearspaw Daycare Centre, Alberta & ABC Learning in Hopper’s Crossing, Australia….