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DPP legislator says lack of babysitters will limit program

There are not enough certified babysitters to meet the demand created by a new childcare subsidy, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said yesterday.

The Cabinet approved a proposal by the Ministry of the Interior in January to provide a NT$3,000 childcare subsidy to dual income families with a combined annual income not exceeding NT$1.5 million (US$49,000) and a child under two years old.

To qualify for the subsidy, parents must hire certified babysitters listed with the ministry's community babysitting network.

"This is a policy with very good intentions, but it will likely generate complaints if certain problems cannot be remedied," Chen told a news conference at the legislature.

The lack of licensed babysitters is the biggest issue, Chen said.

"There are more than 40,000 children nationwide [whose parents] qualify for the service, but there are only 11,499 certified babysitters [listed with the ministry]," she said.

As one babysitter can reasonably be expected to look after two children at a time, the maximum capacity of the babysitting network is 22,988 children.

"This means that as many as 19,722 children will be without a certified babysitter and their parents will not be able to claim the subsidy, even though they qualify," Chen said.

Figures released by the ministry's Children's Bureau show that Taipei County faces the biggest shortfall, with nearly 4,000 children likely to be excluded because of a lack of babysitters.

"So far, Chiayi and Taichung are the only two cities where supply meets demand," Chen said.

She also said that more than 2,700 babysitters listed by the ministry are not certified.

Childcare division director Wu Mei-ying (吳美瑩) said the Children's Bureau was aware of the problems and was trying to resolve them.

"One of the reasons for the shortage is that the Council of Labor Affairs' certification exam is only held once a year," Wu said. "We're asking the council to hold the exam twice a year so that more people can qualify."

Wu said the bureau would also authorize vocational schools with childcare departments to hold certification exams.

"This will resolve the problem of unlicensed babysitters who have completed training courses, but have yet to obtain their licenses," Wu said.

Chen's suggestion that the subsidy be issued to parents who send their children to registered childcare centers outside the ministry's network was rejected.
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