Child care policy and advocacy in federal states: Ontario and Michigan in comparison

Free and open to the public.

Universal child care has been a longstanding goal of child care advocates in both Canada and the United States since the 1960s, yet in 2016 that goal remains stubbornly elusive in both federations despite decades of activism. Responsibility for child care delivery has been shared in both countries between federal, “meso” (provincial/state), and local governments with more of that responsibility being downloaded to the state/provincial level since the 1990s. Dr. Collier will present two meso level cases (Ontario and Michigan) to understand how child care advocates have navigated these decentralized landscapes.  What factors explain successful policy outcomes and what barriers persist? Are universal programs and longer term social justice advocacy claims viable in decentralized federations? 

Cheryl N. Collier is an Associate Professor and Undergraduate Chair in the Department of Political Science at the University of Windsor and the co-director of the university’s cross-disciplinary Health Research Centre for the Study of Violence against Women. Her primary areas of research include Canadian federal and provincial child care and anti-violence policy, comparative women’s movements and gender, federalism and political parties. This semester she is teaching a graduate seminar in Public Management in the Ford School of Public Policy as an Adjunct Professor. She holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Toronto and an MA in Canadian Studies and a Bachelor of Journalism from Carleton University.

View the poster.

Sponsored by:
Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP)

Co-Sponsors:
School of Social Work
School of Public Health

For more information contact Bonnie Roberts at [email protected] or 734-647-4091,   or visit www.closup.umich.edu.

• Child Care Policy