We are child care workers working together to transform how British Columbia cares for its children and supports its families.

We are both unpaid child care workers (such as moms, dads, grandparents, neighbours, friends) and under paid child care workers (such as nannies, family care providers, early childhood educators). Anyone who cares for a child is a child care worker.

We recognize that most child care work in BC is not only unpaid, but also unrecognized and under supported. That’s why we’re working to bring all child care workers together to build a movement capable of ensuring that everyone in BC has enough support to care for children.

We are united by the values of unconditional respect, universal dignity, and shared responsibility in child care.

Our vision is all families and children having enough support, providing more time for families to be together.

Overview of the Liberation Learning Project

The Liberation Learning Project is a grassroots network of local child care leadership schools. Each “school” will be a community-benefits (not for profit) cooperative of child care workers. Members of each community school make all the decisions, and any child care worker who attends at least one workshop in a given year, and signs up to become a member, is welcome to take part in the decision making process.

There are no paid staff and there is no central decision making body, all decisions and monies are kept at the local level -with the local child care leadership schools. Liberation Learning workshops are run by and for child care workers, developing our capacity as child care providers and as leaders and building a broad social movement to transform child care in British Columbia.

Uniting All Child Care Workers

We recognize that most child care is unpaid work, carried out by moms, dads, grandparents, friends, neighbours, and other unpaid child care workers. We also recognize that child care support workers are almost always under paid. Under paid child care workers include nannies, child care providers, family care provides, and early childhood educators.

Child care is valuable work and it’s also highly valued by almost everyone in British Columbia. We know this not only because our shared cultural, social, economic, and political life depends on the provision of child care, and not because children would not thrive or survive without quality child care, but also because so many people provide child care without pay. We care for our children because we know this is the right thing to do, and are willing to pay the heavy price of our time and money to ensure that children are cared care.

What’s Missing are Adequate and Equitable Child Care Supports

Child care is clearly both valuable and valued. So why do so many families struggle to balance time at paid work with time for family care? Why are most child care support workers paid poverty wages? And why aren’t there adequate child care resources for all BC families and children?

The problem is not value or cost. We value child care and willingly pay the cost. The problem is a disconnect between those caring for children and those making decisions about how resources and supports are being allocated to the community as a whole. Until decision makers prioritize early care and learning spending, too many families will continue to unfairly shoulder the costs of child care. The current system is based on “do it alone” rather than on sharing the responsibility of caring for children together.

Broad Social Movement to Transform Child Care in British Columbia

We’re building a broad social movement to transform child care in BC. We’re starting by connecting with each other and developing our leadership skills. To do this, we’re creating a network of child care leadership schools in communities throughout the province. In 2010-11 we launched the first school, which will organized as a community benefits cooperative, in Vancouver. We’re now expanding to Victoria, with the cooperative expected to be in place by the end of 2011-12.

Each school is led by and for child care workers, including unpaid and under paid child care workers. Our school is housed everywhere we are: In our homes, church basements, community centres, and at child care centres. We facilitate professional development workshops, leadership “learning circles”, and community building programs together. Out of these schools we hope to support an expanding dialogue around a common vision for child care, centred on the values of unconditional respect, universal dignity, and shared responsibility.

(Photo credit: CafeMama. Creative Commons.)