Majority of parents report durability of child care arrangements through Covid-19 pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the child care sector and other social services. The pandemic sparked research interest in the experiences of operators and families using child care during the early waves of the pandemic, with many formal child care centre closures during the early waves of the pandemic. 

A study, recently published in the journal Canadian Public Policy, examines the longer term impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on families’ child care arrangements in four Canadian provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia.  Researchers from the University of Toronto and McMaster University surveyed 1,124 parents in December 2020 to understand how Covid-19 impacted short-term disruptions (instability) and longer-term resumption of child care arrangements (durability). They also examined how differences in pre-pandemic service system delivery influenced these patterns of care uptake.

Overall, although parents using out-of-home care reported short-term instability (due to closure of centres), parents who previously used out-of-home care were the most likely (64%) to report durable care arrangements by returning to their pre-pandemic arrangements. This varied by pre-pandemic arrangements, as well as sociodemographic factors and by province.

In-family-home child care arrangements less durable through Covid-19 pandemic

Overall, across all respondents in the sample, respondents who reported using in-family-home forms of care before the pandemic were more likely (47%) to change their arrangements, compared with parents who were using out-of-home care arrangements before the pandemic (28%). 

By examining the socio-economic factors that may have made a difference in the child care instability and durability, the authors found that low-income families, parents with lower educational attainment, and less full-time and less flexible work arrangements experienced the greatest care short-term care disruption. These parents were often managing a change from in-home to other in-home arrangements. For example, 47% of low-income families ($60,000 or less) experienced a change in care arrangements, compared with between 27% to 36% of middle- to high-income families experiencing a chance. 

The authors highlight that these findings support their hypothesis that marginalized parents are more likely to experience child care instability and disruptions.

Pre-pandemic ECEC systems influenced instability and durability

Looking at the four provinces, results showed that respondents in Ontario experienced the highest amount of changes to their care arrangements, with 45% of respondents reporting making changes, compared with 26% of respondents in Quebec.

In Quebec, parents were more likely to use out-of-home care arrangements pre-pandemic and also less likely to experience changes in care arrangements (higher stability and durability). 

Conversely, there was greater instability in the market-based provinces – Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. 

A key take away from the study is that, in Quebec, where there is substantially more public investment in ELCC pre-pandemic, parents and children were more likely to experience durable out-of-home care arrangements.

The authors conclude that “results suggest that robust, affordable, and accessible child care can help parents buffer exogenous shocks such as the pandemic (or more individually experienced shocks, such as job loss or ill health).”