Earning Caring In Canadian Families

By taking a detailed look at the abundant data and analyses available on families through the lens of the "earning and caring equation," this book provides an excellent foundation for new understanding of the family.

Canadian experts in diverse fields as well as people concerned about social justice and cohesion have identified quality child care as a crucial component in addressing a variety of broad societal goals. This study explored the relationships between quality in Canadian family child care homes and: provider characteristics and attitudes about family child care provision; provider income levels and working conditions; and the provider's use of support services, networking with other providers, and professional development opportunities. Data were collected from 231 regulated family child care providers across 6 Canadian provinces and 1 territory, followed by observations in each provider's home. Data analysis focused on identifying the critical factors that predict the level of quality in a family child care home. Findings suggest that physically safe environments with caring, supportive adults are the norm in a majority of family child care homes. However, only just over one third of child care homes provided care that would stimulate children's development. Key variables that predicted family child care home quality as indicated by the score on the Family Day Care Rating Scale were the provider's highest level of education in any subject, provider completion of a formal family child care-specific training course, provider networking with others through an organized association, provider's gross family child care income from the previous year, age of the youngest child present, and the provider's attitude about family child care provision. Findings suggest that methods to support and encourage quality should include recruiting well-educated individuals to the field, providing family child care-specific training, supporting development of networking organizations, developing strategies to enhance provider compensation, providing extra supports for people providing infant care, and promoting and recognizing family child care as a socially important and enjoyable career option. (Eleven appendices include an overview of research on the relation of family child care quality to child development outcomes, an overview of family child care requirements, data collection instruments, and a delineation of the predictor variables used in the analysis. Contains 131 references.) (KB)

With poverty, unemployment, and one-parent families on the rise in most Western democracies, government assistance presents an increasingly urgent and complex problem. This is the first study to explore Canada's family policies in an international context. Maureen Baker looks at the successes and failures of social programs in other countries in search of solutions that might work in Canada. Baker has chosen seven industrialized countries for her comparative study: Australia, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These countries experience social and economic strains similar to those felt in Canada, and though they share certain policy solutions, major differences in policy remain. Baker considers which of the policies in these countries are most effective in reducing poverty, enhancing family life, and improving the status of women, then applies her findings to the Canadian situation. Bringing together research and statistics from the fields of demography, political science, economics, sociology, women's studies, and social policy, this rich, multidisciplinary study provides a unique resource for anyone interested in Canadian family policy.

This study, part of a series on OECD countries, considers how a tax/benefit and childcare policies and workplace practices help determine parental labour market outcomes and may impinge on family formation in Canada, Finland, Sweden and the UK.

Prepare for the real world of family nursing care! Explore family nursing the way it’s practiced today—with a theory-guided, evidence-based approach to care throughout the family life cycle that responds to the needs of families and adapts to the changing dynamics of the health care system. From health promotion to end of life, a streamlined organization delivers the clinical guidance you need to care for families. Significantly updated and thoroughly revised, the 6th Edition reflects the art and science of family nursing practice in today’s rapidly evolving healthcare environments.