2015年-世界发展银行全球_Supply_and_Demand_for_Child_Care_Services_in_Turkey___A_Mixed_Methods_Study_118页_16mb

Summary of Supply and Demand for Child Care Services in Turkey

Core Content

This report presents a mixed-methods study on the supply and demand for child care services in Turkey, conducted by Development Analytics for the Ministry of Family and Social Policies. The study, completed in April-June 2014, analyzes the current state of child care availability, utilization, and the challenges faced by both service providers and users, with a focus on the impact of these services on women's labor force participation and child development.

Main Findings

Supply Side

• Overall Supply: As of 2015, Turkey had 26,972 child care and preschool service providers, with 83.8% being public and 16.2% private.
• Capacity by Age Group:
  • Most capacity is located within preschool classrooms in primary schools.
  • Only 6% of spots are available for children under 3 in day care services.
  • There is no legal requirement for public provision of services for children aged 0–35 months.
• Hours of Care:
  • Less than 25% of providers offer full-day services.
  • Private providers are more likely to offer full-day services.
• Quality of Care:
  • Private providers generally offer higher quality due to better infrastructure and materials, but not necessarily better human resources.
  • Quality indices show that public and private providers perform similarly in terms of human resources.
• Cost of Care:
  • Costs are driven by location, building quality, and human resources (salaries).
  • Teaching content, curriculum, and parental involvement do not influence pricing.
• Funding and Investment:
  • Public financing of private provision is not common.
  • Private centers require at least 40–50 children to break even.
  • A center with 20 children would take 3.1 years to recover costs at current market prices and 9.4 years at average willingness to pay.

Demand Side

• Utilization:
  • Center-based child care utilization is low, with only 29.5% of children aged 3–5 enrolled.
  • About 2.7 million children in this age group are not serviced by any center-based preschool.
• Willingness to Pay:
  • Most households are unwilling to pay current median prices for child care and kindergarten services.
  • The earnings difference for most women is too low to justify joining the labor force.
• Barriers to Utilization:
  • High cost is a major barrier for private services.
  • Social norms favor maternal care for younger children, with mothers preferring earlier enrollment than fathers.
• Expectations and Preferences:
  • Parents prioritize safety, security, and child development when choosing care centers.
  • Location is a key determinant, with a preference for centers in the neighborhood or near workplaces.
  • Hours of operation do not align with the needs of full-time working mothers.
  • Quality is associated with the presence of child psychologists, university-educated teachers, single-age classrooms, and low child-to-staff ratios.
• Impact of Child Care:
  • Child care significantly influences mothers’ decisions to use services and their willingness to pay.
  • Access to affordable and quality child care is crucial for increasing female labor force participation.
  • 43% of non-working women in urban areas stated that affordable and quality child care would enable them to work and improve family income and children's welfare.

Key Policy Implications

• Accessibility and Location: Child care centers should be more accessible and located in neighborhoods or near workplaces to meet the needs of working mothers.
• Affordability and Pricing: Prices are too high for most households, especially for lower-income groups. Subsidies or public investment may be necessary to make services more affordable.
• Quality of Services: While private providers offer better quality due to infrastructure and materials, public provision needs to improve in terms of quality and availability.
• Employment Impact: Policies that increase access to affordable and quality child care can significantly boost female employment, especially among women with secondary school education.
• Public Provision: The current public provision is insufficient to meet demand, particularly for disadvantaged children. A more comprehensive and equitable public child care system is needed.
• Demand-Side Transfer: Targeting households with difficulty in accessing services through demand-side transfers can help address unmet needs.

Conclusion

The supply and demand for child care services in Turkey are mismatched due to high costs, limited availability for younger children, and inadequate quality in public provision. These factors hinder the participation of women in the labor market and negatively affect child development. To address these issues, the report recommends policies that increase affordability, expand availability, and improve quality, particularly for disadvantaged groups. A comprehensive model that aligns with the expectations of parents and is accessible to a larger population is essential for long-term success.