Full Text: Children Amendment Act 2010
Minister of Youth, Families, Sports and Community Glenn Blakeney gave a statement on the Children Amendment Act 2010 in the House of Assembly today [Nov 12], which follows in full below:
Mr. Speaker and Honourable members of this House, this Government is striving to improve the day care system for our children. A truly cross ministerial and community issue and priority.
A review of the day care system is currently underway which began in 2009 through consultation and collaboration lead by the Department of Health with the Department of Family Services, the Department of Education, the Child Development Program, and the Private Day Care Association. Underscoring the significance of the review is the Blueprint for Reform in Education’s recognition of the importance of nurturing the minds, bodies and characters of Bermuda’s future citizens in their first years of life.
Furthermore, as a result of the highly successful 2008 Child Day Care Allowance Act, tax payers’ dollars now reimburse home day care providers and day care centers for their services. Therefore, it is also in the Government’s interest to ensure that value for money is being delivered and that high quality and safe day care are being purchased.
Mr. Speaker, in light of the importance of day care and the review underway, solutions are being put into place. These solutions begin with The 2010 Children Act Amendment which is a necessary first step to strengthen the Act and lay the foundation for future changes.
The 1998 Children Act was written with a focus on day care centers with almost no mention of home day care providers. This is an anomaly and weakness of the Act. Home day care providers along with day care centers are the primary commercial day care settings for children prior to preschool. Home day care providers predominantly care for infants from 2 months to 2 years in a residential setting, with day care centers caring for children aged 2 to 4 years. The prevalence of both types of day care settings in our community requires they both be clearly regulated.
As a result, the 2010 Amendment clearly distinguishes between home day care providers and day care centers. This distinction includes a definition of a day care provider in the home setting that was absent within the 1998 Act. The definition was constructed from The Child Day Care Allowance Act, which defined home day care facilities to ensure their eligibility for the allowance.
The definition of a day care provider in home settings, in the Amendment, also establishes child and staff ratios. This is important. Not because the numbers printed today in the Amendment Act are being set in stone. On the contrary, these numbers are currently under review, and if decided that the numbers should be changed, then this Amendment Act will facilitate that change.
Mr. Speaker, building on this clarification of home day care providers, the 2010 Amendment remedies a loophole in the existing legislation. Recently, it became apparent that the Children Act was unable to stop the operation of a home day care provider, even in a scenario where there might be a strong reason to suspect that a child was in an unsafe setting. This obvious flaw in the legislation required immediate correction to ensure the safety of children.
The 2010 Children Amendment Act’s more explicit mention and treatment to the day care provider clarifies the regulation of this setting and allows for emergency closure. That being said, the tone of the Act has actually been made less draconian. For instance, in the interest of transparency, the Minister must now give his reason for closure and his decision is no longer final, in that there is now an appeal to the Courts.
Finally, through the day care system review, we are aware that there are no explicit prescribed standards for day care provision in the home setting. These standards must now be drafted and the Amendment Act paves the way for that to occur. The Ministry of Health pledges to draft this policy in close consultation with all stakeholders, and certainly arm in arm with the home day care providers themselves.
In conclusion, this Amendment Act clarifies the regulation of child day care in Bermuda and thus closes legal loopholes to better ensure the well being of children care. Of equal importance, this Amendment also lays the foundation for future changes, to be developed in collaboration with day care providers, to address needs identified in the day care system review.
Thank you Mr. Speaker
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