On Tuesday the 23rd of April, the Second Chamber voted positively on the law proposal Childcare BES. In this law proposal, the basic rules are laid down for the quality, supervision and financing of childcare on Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius. In the Spring Memorandum, the cabinet also reserved about 8 million euro per year extra for childcare in the Caribbean Netherlands. This money is meant to further improve the quality of childcare in the Caribbean Netherlands.
The aim of the law proposal is to provide good, safe and affordable childcare for all children in the Caribbean Netherlands, so every child has the opportunity to develop to their full potential. The Cabinet’s ambition is for childcare in the Caribbean Netherlands to meet a comparable level of quality as in the European Netherlands. That level has not yet been reached concludes the Inspectorate of Education in its recent report following an intermediate measurement in 2023. Childcare organisations are working hard to meet this goal. To boost these efforts, the government is providing extra money.
Money for quality improvement
The results of a study on childcare costs show that the costs of childcare in the Caribbean Netherlands are higher than originally thought. For many childcare organisations, the subsidy received in recent years was insufficient to cover all costs. This applies especially to day care, host parent care and baby care. With the additional allocated money, many of the recommendations from the childcare cost study can be followed up. It will enable the organisations to work on the necessary quality improvements in the coming years. They will receive support for this from the BES(t) 4 kids programme.
Reduction of parental contribution from 2027
From 2027, the parental contribution will also be further reduced to 4 per cent of childcare costs. The parental contribution will then be a couple of tens of dollars that parents will continue to pay to their childcare organisation. For parents who cannot afford it, the Public Entity will have the possibility of paying the parental contribution. Then, childcare will be free for these parents.
Next steps
Before the proposal becomes final, it will be submitted to the First Chamber. The new law is expected to come into force in the second half of 2025. In the coming months work will continue on the further elaboration of the proposal for a new law in an Order in Council (Algemene Maatregel van Bestuur). This will include more detailed quality requirements on which childcare organisations have been consulted several times. A final internet consultation will take place in the summer of 2024.
The website has a summary of the law proposal and an animated video about the proposal.