National Pyjama Day 2023

International responses to the Covid-19 crisis: The case of childcare

International responses to the Covid-19 crisis: The case of childcare

Our Research Officer, Dr Danielle Santana compares childcare policies in three countries, according to: the operation of the sector during the crisis; support to services and support to workers.

In the UK, nurseries and schools closed from March 23, except those caring for vulnerable children and those of key workers. Funding for the free pre-school years, which in the country covers two to four-year olds, has continued. Public funding corresponds to about half of providers’ income for that age group. All providers will also be exempt from business rates for one year, which also applies to childminders. Early years organisations have highlighted, however, that the sector is still at serious risk, as many providers heavily rely on parental fees and will experience significant losses. Although the government has announced a general package of financial measures to rescue the economy, which includes £330bn in loans and £20bn in other aid, there is a lack of clarity on how the early years providers specifically will be supported. Lastly, the British government will pay 80% of salary for staff in all sectors who are kept on by their employer, up to £2,500 a month.

The Norwegian government announced the closure of their schools and kindergartens on St. Patrick’s Day, but as in the UK, a skeleton service for children of socially critical workers was maintained. A lack of clarity on who is eligible still prevails. The government also announced a financial package for the general economy, which will provide 50 billion crowns in loans to SMEs and postpone payments of payroll taxes. Regarding workers, the government reduced the number of days for which the employer is liable to pay the salary due to temporary layoff from 15 to 2 days. After this, the employee is entitled to the regular unemployment benefit for up to 26 weeks. The unemployment benefit normally covers 62.4% of income.

The US strategy has been very different. As the American federal regime allows for a great degree of state autonomy, we will take a closer look at the policies being adopted in New York, which registers the biggest number of Covid-19 cases. In New York, childcare centres have not so far been ordered to close, but voluntary closures are allowed. Providers were asked to limit overall density of rooms to ten or fewer children, and to prioritize places for children of first responders, health care workers, and direct care workers. Childcare workers who are temporarily out of work due to Covid-19 related closures have been encouraged to move to other programmes in need of staff, and a registry system to facilitate this movement was put in place. Certain background check requirements were also waived, so that educators could begin work straightaway. Regular unemployment benefits currently cover only about 50 percent of wages, which leaves unemployed childcare workers in a very difficult situation. The Trump administration is proposing two waves of checks to all individuals (of $1000 per adult and $500 per child) and another $500 billion for small and large businesses, but at the time of writing, this hasn’t been enacted yet.

In these unprecedented times, the policy landscape is fast-moving and at times confusing and unclear. All over the world, best practices are being unveiled as we go along, and measures are changing rapidly. Early Childhood Ireland’s Early Years Employer Service (EYES) is here to keep members updated with the latest developments here in Ireland. The EYES team can be contacted Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, by phone on (01) 405 7103 or by email on eyes@earlychildhoodireland.ie.

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