Finnish Local Government 2004: Child Day Care 1999: Service Directors

The survey focused on the scope, service provision, administration and development of child day care services in Finnish municipalities. The respondents were municipal officials responsible for child day care services. Similar surveys were carried out in 1997, 1999 and 2003, from the viewpoints of municipal service directors, day nursery managers and child-minding coordinators. First, the respondents were asked how many children there were in municipal day care centres, whether there were queues for places in those centres, and how the children were divided in terms of age and the type of day care (e.g. full day care, sessional day care). Views on the role of the private sector in child day care services were also probed. The number of employees in municipal day nurseries and their tasks were queried, as well as the capacity and utilisation rate of municipal day care places. There were also questions pertaining to service provision, competitive tendering, and satisfaction with services. Further questions covered management and decision-making on child day care in the municipality. The respondents were also asked which body decided on matters such as using outsourced services. The impact of different bodies on day care services was assessed. Finally, the development of municipal day care since 1995 and development policies for the future were surveyed. Background variables included the respondent's gender, year of birth, job title, work experience, level of education, and the location of the job.