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Stories and photo by RON PRESTON Staff Writer stitute is fighting to imâ€" prove life in rural Can» ada. The Federated Women‘s In~ stitutes of Canada (FWIC) is calling for changes in rural child care policy to reflect the “unique” needs of rural fami- lies. In a recentlyâ€"released report, the FWIC makes several rec- ommendations: ‘A special policy for rural child care that recognizes is sues unique to rural families *Federal and provincial gov» ernments must examine the ways in which subsidies and al- lowances'are allocated to child care serVices. ‘To address the need for sea~ sonal child care and the prob- lems associated with the isola~ tion of rural families, serious consideration must be gvien to various innovative approaches to rural child care. I*More flexibility in the provi- Sion of rural child care services so that spaces are not lost beâ€" cause oi rigid adherence to overly strict regulations. ‘Margaret Munro is the imme- diate past-president of the FWIC in Ontario. She and her husband now live in Ottawa and help their son on the farm. She 'was a member of the committee that created and later reviewed the 3,400 ques- tionnaires distributed across the country. (Three hundred questionnaires were sent to each province except Ontario, which received 700.) "The goal of the survey is Separate child care policies suggested The Federated Women’s Institute of Canada can dueted a Rural Child Care Survey Project (198871991) with financial aid from Health and Welfare Canada It recommends that all levels of government create separate policies to deal with child care issues that are umque to rural families. (Rural includes small towns and villages) V0116 of the main issues was how the federal and pro- Vincial governments allocates monies for child care serViceS. The FWIC recommended that the working Parent be given a tax credit if the oUier spouse stays home to take care of children; that short-term child care costs incurred when the stayrat-home parent halls on the farm is recognized as employment ex» 991158 by Revenue Canada; and that lamin allowance funds that are "taxed back” from wealthy families he reallocated to lower income families in the form of or come supplements to be used for child care only Once again the Women’s In- WI seeking changes in rural Child care policy that when policy is decided about child care, the input from the rural area isn’t there, so people tend to look at it from a city int of view, where there are a ready services or services can be made available much more easily than the rural areas. ‘ “We felt the rural areas were just as important 7 and in some cases. more so â€" and that their views should be heard when policy is made on child care," It was important to discover what services were already available, how rural families judged those services, and what they felt was needed. “One or two things surprised us," Munro said. “Mainly the fact that people did not expect child care to be just given to them, universal child care where it’s completely funded. They expect some kind of user pay, although they did feel that single parents or people below a certain level of income * and especially those people with children with special needs 7 should certainly be helped." But one of the biggest sur- prises was that parenm said they would be prepared to stay home rather than use daycare facilities if there was some sort of financial encouragement such as tax credits for the part ner working outside the home. And women who chose to stay home to raise their child- ren want some respect from so ciety as well. One survey reâ€" spondent wrote: “I really feel that not enough emphasis is given to women and their work. I am an RN â€" when I work at the hospital I am a working per- areas; The Federated Women's Instiluta of Canada recently com- pleted a threeâ€"year study of rural day care needs. Playtime Vil- lage Daycare Centre, located between Whealley and Leamington, is one of the low rural day-cares avallable across the country. The report was funded by Health and Welfare Canada. son, and if 1 have a babysitter, a house cleaner and a chore boy to replace me at my duties at home, they are considered as three working people. "But if I stay at home â€" care for my children, clean my home, feed family and help do In addition, the report calls for innovative ap- proaches to rural child care to address the seasonal needs and the problem of rural isolation. It recom- mended that: *Provincial governments examine the feasibility of using Farm Labor Pool offices as central registries for child care givers, especially during peak periods; *That consideration be given to portable child care facilities which could be temporarily moved to areas during peak periods; "That univerSities and colleges with Early Childhood Education programs consider creating cooperative work terms to coincide with peak demand in rural "Thal incentives be given to rural organizations to encourage them to set up and operate before and after school droprin programs for children under age 12, *That mobile toy lending and book lending libraries farm accounting and banking. help at barn and on tractor. cut grass, plant and tend to flower beds and garden and do volun» teer work for church, 4H, and community â€" I am not work- ing, I’m just at home, “I receive no money, no tax local populations. strict regulations." tries ' L-_._____. ’ cal dangers when parents can't be established by municipal or provincial agencies to serve as valuable educational and information re- sources for isolated families in rural areas: ‘And that communities be assisted and encouraged to develop child care services to meet the needs of their The report also stressed the need for adaptability and flexibility in the provision of child care serVices. ‘ Since there is a shortage of child care spaces. “spaces ‘ must not be lost because of rigid adherence to overly lt recommended that as long as the health” safety and security of the children is assured. communities be permitted to make adjustments to program and facility regulations. Each case would be judged by adVisers. The report also called for creation of rural workplace child care spaces in hospitals, schools and light indus- credits, no respect. But my bus» band, my children and my home are receiving the best care by the best caregiver! “I receive no money, no tax credits, no respect. But my husband, my children and my home are receiving the best care by the best caregiver ! ” "As you can see, this has caused me much stress and by times, depression. Today's so- ciety'with its increasing prob- lems is screaming for caring women to stay home and work." The change in the family structure has also affected farm families, No longer are grandparents living on the farm, available to watch the l children while the parentsl work, she said. Too often children face physi- find I adequate daycare. They are taken along on tractors or i left to play at the end of the field near large equipment, “and a lot of them have no choice...(e- ven though) they recognize it as not being good but they don‘t do it unless they really have to.” The report was completed late last year and presented to the federal government in , early April but as of yet, there has been little political re‘ spouse from any party. “I would hope it would gen- erate discussion and I would certainly hope that the people making decisions on any kind of child care would take this into consideration. ” Farmers have resisted out- side interference but Munro said with both parents working "they are actually ready to take some kind of help."