During the Session we will discuss about the importance of childcare services, about national Forum for Creches and Childcare services (FORCES) as well as effort made by FORCES to universilize childcare 

National Forum for Chreches and Childcare Services (FORCES)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAkgnhNUG20 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IemD_aQ1Oo0&t=16844s 

19^th February 2024

Statement of Forum for Creches and Childcare Services (FORCES)

Universal Access to Maternity Entitlements, Childcare and Early Childhood Development Services

Childcare can enable realization of multiple interconnected Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) goals such as Goal 5 (gender equality), Goal 1 (ending all poverty), Goal 3 (healthy lives and promotion of well-being for all at all ages), Goal 4 (inclusive and quality education for all), Goal 8 (creation of decent employment for all and promoting inclusive growth) and Goal 10 (reduction of inequalities. Childcare is critical to promote gender equality, human development and inclusive and sustainable growth.

Recommendations

• Universal right to maternity entitlements, quality childcare and other forms of holistic ECD services – FORCES recommends universal right to maternity entitlements for all women in the form of health services, supplementary nutrition and at least six months of wage linked paid maternity leave. It believes in childcare as a universal right of all workers and all children. All workers or all children may not need childcare, but the provision should exist in the form of a universal entitlement so that parents can access quality childcare services when there is a need. All children under six should also have right to integrated nutrition, health, responsive care, safety and protection and state has a provider and regulator is responsible to provide the children the right to holistic development.
• Adequate and just policies that promote universalization, equity and inclusion – The Constitution of India in Article 39(e) states that the state must ensure to women, health and strength to work, and to protect them from coercive economic abuse and situations. Thus, as guarantor of Constitutional and other forms of Human Rights the State should have appropriate policies for its citizens, for its workers and all the children below six years of age so that the progressive policy environment promotes ease of access, availability and adequacy of quality services to promote universality, equity and inclusion in letter and spirit.  
• Harnessing adequate resources for the above– FORCES advocates for publicly funded universal maternity entitlement childcare services. The State must harness adequate resources to universally implement quality childcare services nationally. It should regulate the quality of services where crèches are run by multiple forms of resource sharing.
• Decent work for childcare workers – Childcare as an occupation should be recognized and valued by ensuring that all childcare workers are trained and have access to decent work with fair wages, social security provisions and freedom to form associations.

National FORCES Secretariat  

DIZ Area, Raja Bazaar, Sector IV,  New Delhi 110001 India

Phone    +91 9311441098 / 9899557284 / 9818075501

Email     nationalforces89@gmail.com

Endorsement of FORCES statement

71 representatives of different CSOs , networks and collations endorsed our statement. List of endoresemetn is attached as document