Childcare investigation committee meets for the first time, but concerns remain

In the Flemish Parliament, the committee of investigation into safety in childcare was launched on Friday. As announced, MP Koen Daniëls (N-VA) will chair the commission. The commission wants to have a final report ready by 1 July 2022 at the latest.

Earlier this month, the Flemish Parliament decided to set up an investigation commission to look into the safety of childcare. The reason behind the committee was the death of a six-month-old girl at the childcare centre 't Sloeberhuisje in Mariakerke and recurring signs of abuse and neglect in a number of other childcare institutions. 

The investigation commission will look into the procedures and possible problems with the flow and follow-up of complaints and reports. The commission met Friday for the first time behind closed doors. As with the PFAS-PFOS investigation committee, the committee has 15 permanent members and one additional member.

According to chairman Koen Daniëls, the committee mainly has to find answers to a series of pertinent questions and concerns from parents. "When a parent sees a permit from Kind & Gezin hanging on the wall, they should be able to be one hundred percent confident that everything is in order. But that confidence has been shaken by the events. We have to restore that trust, both for the parents and for all childcare initiatives that are doing well," says Daniëls. 

Concerns about childcare availability

The safety of childcare is not the only concern. The ever decreasing availability of childcare has parents and experts worried. Flemish childcare workers are overworked, and vacancies are plentiful. Ghent's Alderman for Education Elke Decruynaere (Groen) criticized the government of Flanders in an op-ed in Knack.

"What happened in 't Sloeberhuisje painfully exposes what is going wrong: the enormous financial pressure on independent nurseries, the conclusion that you almost need more qualifications to make french fries than to care for babies, staffing standards and the lack of control and enforcement. The investigation committee threatens to focus only on the latter," writes Decruynaere.

According to her, many local governments are "forced to provide financial support for childcare facilities, even though this is a core responsibility of the government of Flanders. But the government is too slow and detached," concludes the Alderman.

Flemish Minister of Welfare in the crosshairs

Wouter Beke's (CD&V) comment earlier this week only added fuel to the fire. In an interview with Humo, the Flemish Minister of Welfare's suggestion to limit paternity leave in order to solve overcrowding issues in daycare centres, was not well received by the childcare sector. 

On Friday, demonstrators assembled in front of the offices of Minister Beke. They asked for recognition of the pedagogical importance of the first 1,000 days, structural changes in childcare and better frameworks and opportunities for professionalization for employees in childcare, among other things

© BELGA PHOTO NILS QUINTELIER - A demonstration within the framework of the action 'The first 1,000 days' for a Marshall plan for quality childcare, in Brussels, Friday 01 April 2022.